Padfoot's Story: The Dog and the Owl
by Nora's magelet
Summary: COMPLETE! First part of the Marauders' Story Trilogy. Check out my user profile for a full summary.
1. A Day in Hogsmeade

> **Chapter 1: A Day in Hogsmeade**
> 
> **Padfoot's Story**
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone in the story except for Sami Jackson, but I wish I did!

> Welcome to my first ever fanfic, a romance between Sirius Black (my favorite character!) and my original character, Sami Jackson. (Be nice to Sami, I'm quite fond of her.) It's the 1st part of a trilogy about the Marauders. I am actually quite proud of this fic, because it is the 1st story I've started that I'm sure I'm going to finish.
> 
> Like all authors, I love posting a Chapter and seeing loads of reviews for it the next day. So if you like it and think I'm a genius, or if you hate it and think it's not worthy of being called a harry potter fanfic, please tell me! Of course, flames are not appreciated because what good do they ever do anyone? And if you flame me and don't give me a good reason why, my pet Barney the Bat {.,.} will eat the review. They're his favorite food. But please, don't go out of your way to make sure he gets fed. He doesn't have a big appetite.
> 
> And now that I've bored you all stupid, on with the story!
> 
> **...........................................................**
> 
> It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and every Hogwarts student was taking advantage of the warm weather. This Saturday was the first day of the season that was warm enough for the students to take off their cloaks and scarves; every third-year and up was spending the day strolling through Hogsmeade. Seventh-year Sirius Black was sitting on a fence surrounded by his three best friends: Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter. Remus looked up at Sirius from his position on the ground.
> 
> "This month we could explore that shack behind the Three Broomsticks- There's a rumor that somebody has been smuggling Demiguise hides there and selling them illegally on the black market. I'd like to catch him in the act; I doubt he'd try to plead his innocence to a werewolf. Besides, I'd like an Invisibility cloak of my own_, James_- what do you think, Peter?" Peter's small, watery eyes darted to the Shrieking Shack behind Sirius.
> 
> "I don't know, Remus. It's not very safe to be wandering off like this every month, what if we get caught?"
> 
> "Aw Pete, c'mon, we wont get caught, it'll be great. Even if we _were_, it wouldn't exactly be difficult for you to just slip away...and what do _you _need an invisibility cloak for, anyway?" James said, shooting a grin at Remus.
> 
> The conversation continued normally as the group planned their next "full moon" outing, but it took another fifteen minutes before James noticed that Sirius hadn't taken part in the discussion.
> 
> "Sirius, what's up? I haven't seen you this quiet since Filch caught you bewitching that suit of armor to kick Mrs. Norris whenever she passed-" but he stopped mid sentence as he followed Sirius's gaze. "Oooohhhh..."
> 
> Sirius was staring down the street at a beautiful Ravenclaw seventh-year, who was sprawled on the grass chatting with her best friend, Lily Evans. The girl had dark, curly hair hanging down her back, and even from where Sirius was sitting he could make out her almond-shaped green eyes. The two girls were stuffing themselves with Honeydukes sweets, and Sirius watched intently as Lily pulled a Zonko's cracker and hundreds of tiny butterflies soared into the air. The girls laughed loudly. James returned his eyes to Sirius's face.
> 
> "Still dreaming about that Sami Jackson? She's a looker, all right, but you can have her as long as I get Lily."
> 
> Sirius looked as though he had been horribly offended.
> 
> "A looker? Is that all? You don't know the half of it! She's sweet, and she's funny, and intelligent-"
> 
> Sirius continued to rave about his crush until Remus pulled out his wand and threatened to hex him.
> 
> "We've heard it before, Padfoot. But if you don't mind, we'd like to continue the previous, slightly more important discussion. Unless, of course, you're finally gonna ask her out?" That shut Sirius up.
> 
> "Hey Sirius," James suddenly said mischievously, "Do you know if Sami likes furry black dogs?" A second later, Sirius had disappeared from his seat on the fence and a gigantic black dog was bounding towards two extremely attractive students sitting across the street.
> 
> ---------------------------------------
> 
> Sirius rushed across the street towards Sami, his heart pounding with excitement as he felt the wind in his fur and dirt under his paws again. He didn't stop to think about what he was doing, because if he did he knew that he would never work up the nerve to do it. Besides, it wasn't like Sami _knew_ he could transform into a furry black dog at will...
> 
> Lily noticed him before Sami did.
> 
> "Awww, look at the cute doggy!" she crooned in the type of voice all girls reserve for this sort of thing. Sirius stopped and lay down on his belly, inching closer. Sami turned around too and smiled at Sirius.
> 
> "Where did he come from?" she asked Lily, beckoning Sirius closer with her hand.
> 
> "Dunno. It looked like he was coming from somewhere over there…" Lily replied, gesturing over at the group positioned in front of the Shrieking Shack. She scowled at James, who was watching her closely.
> 
> "Well, it doesn't matter, he's adorable. Hey, doggy; want some Bertie Bott's Beans?" and with a loud woof, Sirius rushed up to her and started licking her face. Sami laughed. "I love dogs. This one might just be a stray... I always wanted one, but Dad's allergic. No, boy, down!" she laughed again, as Sirius knocked her over and poked his nose into the candy bag.
> 
> James, Remus, and Peter watched as Sami and Lily got Sirius to beg, roll over, and shake hands for Every Flavor Beans. Often Sirius would leap forward and lick Sami on the nose.
> 
> "What a show-off," James muttered to the others, but they all grinned as Sirius walked around on his hind legs and caught a bean in his mouth. He coughed and spit it out, and the three of them heard Sami say, "Don't like the jalapeno pepper, huh, boy? I never did either-" and Sirius knocked her down again in an attempt to get more beans. When the last bean had been eaten, Lily checked her watch.
> 
> "C'mon, Sami, we better get going if we want to get back to school on time. Bye, doggie! I hope we'll see you again." She blew him a kiss, and Sami leaned down to hug him and rub the top of his head. Then both girls ran down the street crowded with students, talking excitedly to each other.
> 
> After making sure that Lily and Sami had turned a corner, the great black dog rushed back over to the Shrieking Shack, barking happily. He collapsed between James and Remus, and transformed back into the seventeen-year-old, black-haired, human Sirius.
> 
> "Hey, guys," Sirius panted, grinning broadly. "I'd say that went pretty well."
> 
> **....................................................................**
> 
> First Chapter completed. I would like to meet all Padfoot fans- Sirius should **not** have died! So click on that little button in the bottom corner. Cheers!
> 
> -Padfoot-Dreamer-


	2. What the Marauder's Map Showed

> **Chapter 2: What the Marauder's Map Showed**
> 
> **Padfoot's Story**
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing in Harry Potter, except Sami.
> 
> Hey, welcome back! Enjoy the 2nd Chapter.
> 
> **..........................................**

> That evening, friends Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs made they way back to the castle, still discussing where they would go next week when the moon shone full in the night sky. But once again, nobody seemed to notice that Sirius remained silent.
> 
> He was trailing right behind the others. Anybody who saw him would have though he was drunk, because he couldn't wipe this silly sort of grin off his face. He was staring off into the horizon, where the golden sun was sinking lazily over the trees. Fluffy pink clouds hung suspended over the lake, which had the fiery burst of color reflected on its surface. The sunset reflected Sirius's mood perfectly. He was still trying to absorb the fact that he had a way to spend time with Sami, without her knowing it was him. Maybe if he got to know her well enough, he would be able to work up the nerve to ask her out...
> 
> Sirius was outgoing, popular, and very clever (not to mention that until recently he had been thought of as arrogant). It was a well-known fact that he hung out with Remus, James, and Peter, especially since James was Head Boy. Never before had he had a problem with girls-
> 
> Until Sami Jackson happened.
> 
> He had liked Sami for over a year, ever since he first seen her smile, ever since he had first looked into her beautiful eyes. And gradually, as he watched her from afar, he had fallen in love with the person she was: her gentle voice, her sharp mind, and her carefree view of life. As far as he was concerned, there was only one word to describe her: perfect. But as far as he knew, Sami had never given him a second glance.
> 
> --------------------------------
> 
> It had been exactly one week since the eventful Hogsmeade trip. James, Peter, and Sirius were all sitting in armchairs next to a crackling fire, in what was otherwise a completely empty Gryffindor common room. Except for the merrily dancing flames and a violent thunderstorm's rain pelting the windows, the room was silent. The three friends were patiently waiting for the clock to chime midnight, at which point they would all sneak outside, transform, and meet a fully-grown werewolf in the Shrieking Shack. Of course, they wouldn't spend a very long time inside- there were more exciting things to do in a wizard town when nobody could catch and expel you. Peter still often worried that Remus would escape and bite somebody, but the rest of the group had gotten over this fear long ago.
> 
> As time dragged by, the fire was reduced to a pile of glowing embers, and the friends were wrapped in almost complete darkness. Sirius looked at short, plump Peter, who looked excited but slightly nervous and was fiddling with his wand. Then he looked at tall, handsome James, who was quivering from trying to contain his eagerness and kept reaching up to ruffle his hair. The Marauder's Map was sticking out of James' back pocket, and they was a bulge in the front of his robes were the Invisibility Cloak was hidden. When it was five minutes to midnight and the tension in the room was nearing its peak, an enormous clap of thunder rattled the windows and James blurted out something that had been on his mind for a while.
> 
> "Sirius, can we talk about you and Sami?"
> 
> Sirius jumped; his mind had been wandering.
> 
> "Yeah, sure, I guess. What is there to talk about? Besides, of course, how wonderful she is…"
> 
> James hesitated. "Well, it doesn't seem right that you're suddenly spending so much time with her when she has no idea it's you. It's kind of like spying."
> 
> Sirius remained silent for a moment with a thoughtful expression on his face. It was true, for the past week Sami could be seen romping with a large black dog on the grounds between every period. Sometimes Lily was there as well, but Sirius didn't pay quite as much attention to her.
> 
> "She likes spending time with me now," he said finally. "We have fun togther. I don't think I should have to give that up."
> 
> Peter, who had been quiet during the entire conversation, suddenly spoke up. "She likes spending time with the dog, you idiot! Not you! How do you think she's going to feel if she finds out you're really Sirius Black, an animagus who can illegally morph into a dog? Either you've got to tell her and hope she understands, or stop seeing her as a dog. I can promise you if she finds out from anyone other than you, your potential relationship is over before it will have even started."
> 
> Sirius stared at Peter after this outburst, his mouth hanging open. Peter averted his eyes and blushed.
> 
> "Plus," said James quietly, "We miss hanging out with you, Padfoot."
> 
> Sirius didn't reply. He knew his friends were right, but he didn't want to think about that now, not right before a "full moon" outing. There was too much to look forward to. His mind wandered again, and settled on remembering the night before this one. It had been around ten o'clock, and Sami was alone in the Ravenclaw common room, a welcoming oval shaped alcove, with Sirius. He recalled fondly the way she had curled up on the floor next to the fire, using him as a pillow. He remembered how comfortable he had been, as she did her homework and he listened to the storm howling outside. She had also recently taken to calling him Pepper, after the Bertie Bott's Bean he spit out that day in Hogsmeade.
> 
> The clock struck midnight. Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail rose as one and stood close together while James pulled the Cloak over their heads. Walking slowly, they stepped out of the portrait hole ("Who's there?" the Fat Lady called sleepily) and into the deserted corridor. When they reached the Grand Staircase, James pulled the Marauder's Map out of his back pocket, tapped it with his wand, and murmured,
> 
> "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
> 
> Thin spidery strands flew over the parchment to form the map Sirius had helped create. As he leaned closer to look at the map, a flash of movement in the corner of the parchment caught his eye. Frowning, he leaned even closer until he could read the label "Sami Jackson" above a dot that was racing down the passageway behind the statue of the one-eyed witch. The dot was about to run right off the map. Then Sirius blinked, and when he looked again, the dot was gone. He barely had enough time to wonder what Sami was doing running into Hogsmeade on a Saturday night, before an incredibly loud crack of thunder roared in his ears-
> 
> And he woke up.
> 
> **...........................................................**

> I always like a good cliffhanger. Thanks so much for all the positive feedback. Please review this chapter as well! Just push the little button down there and- well, you know the rest.
> 
> -Padfoot-Dreamer-


	3. In the Shrieking Shack

> **Chapter 3: In the Shrieking Shack**
> 
> **Padfoot's Story**
> 
> Disclaimer: Sami is mine. No one else is.
> 
> I'm back! Glad you're still here.
> 
> **..........................................................**

> Sirius sat up, panting, with his sheets wrapped tightly around him. Lightning brightened his dark room, following the thunder that had woken him up. Visions from the dream kept flashing in front of his face: Lily scowling at James, Peter yelling at him in frustration, Sami laughing. Sirius dimly realized that he was thirsty, and struggled to free himself from his sheets. He fell out of bed onto the cold, hard floor, muttering curses furiously under his breath. Clumsily, he worked his way into the bathroom, and poured himself a glass of water from the cracked sink. He stood there staring into the mirror through eyes blurred with sleep, the hand with the glass shaking so much he kept missing his mouth and his other hand gripping the sink so hard his knuckles turned white. Finally he managed one word in a low croak, a word that pretty much summed up his feelings about everything that was happening.
> 
> "Why?"
> 
> Why was he dreaming about Sami Jackson, the girl he had dreamed of and desperately desired when he was seventeen? Why was he suddenly reliving his seventh year in perfect detail, almost twenty years after it had happened? Why _now_, in the middle of June, when he had so many more important things to deal with, such as Harry, cleaning out his mother's horrible old house, and the Order of the Phoenix?
> 
> Sirius did know one thing, however, which was that this had to stop. Things had happened in his seventh year that he didn't want to remember, things that were so painful the wounds were still healing. He had barely made it through living them once. How was he supposed to survive living through them again?
> 
> Sirius tore his eyes away from his blurry reflection and looked at his hands. One was still holding a full glass of water; the other was completely numb. He knew it was hopeless to try and drink anything, so instead he threw the water in his face. Then he stumbled back to his bed and checked the clock. Two in the morning. Sirius groaned; it was too early to get up. He wasn't going to risk knocking something over in the dark and waking up his mother's portrait; that would make him very unpopular with the rest of the Order for about a month. So he fell back onto his pillow, dreading sleep and trying to think of anything except his seventh year at Hogwarts.
> 
> -------------------------------------------
> 
> James was still scanning the map; Peter was looking over his shoulder.
> 
> "Good. Filch in the dungeons, Mrs. Norris in the Charms classroom- hey, that's odd. Dumbledore's not on the map. I wonder where he could be at this time of night?" James muttered.
> 
> "Probably got some call from the Ministry of Magic and had to leave," Peter whispered back. "But it doesn't really matter, that's one less person we have to look out for."
> 
> Neither of them seemed to have noticed Sami's dot, and Sirius didn't mention it to them. He was still wondering what she was doing. _'Most likely meeting some boy in Hogsmeade,'_ he thought miserably to himself. James wiped the map blank and stuffed it back into his robes. Then the three friends started walking slowly down the Grand Staircase.
> 
> They made it to the front doors without any trouble, except a little run-in with Peeves, who was chucking Dungbombs at the doors to the Great Hall. James cautiously reached out and opened the door, cringing when it creaked. The thunderstorm raged in and released its wrath, rain pelting all three of them and the wind howling, echoing around the whole corridor. The Marauders quickly stepped outside, huddling under the cloak as rain rolled off the top of it (James had long ago bewitched the cloak to repel water). James closed the door with enormous difficulty, they all lit their wands, and started walking towards the Whomping Willow. It was a mark of how often they did this that they could find their way; anybody else attempting to reach the violent tree in this weather would easily have gone off in the wrong direction. The full moon, which usually shed enough light to lead the way, was entirely smothered by the dark clouds.
> 
> They knew they had reached the Willow when the sound of slashing leaves could be heard over the wind, and they all jumped back quickly.
> 
> Peter disappeared from James' side. After a few seconds the swinging branches froze, and Sirius and James grinned at each other.
> 
> "Here we go," James said cheerfully, and clapped Sirius on the shoulder. Sirius nodded back, and transformed.
> 
> For the umpteenth time that week, he was the large black dog, feeling more free and happy than ever. These monthly escapes were the best times of his life. How many people got to spend one night each month running wild around Hogsmeade or the Hogwarts grounds with his best friends? And then, there was the fact that he had the perfect way to spend time with a pretty girl on a regular basis...Even if his friends didn't approve of it.
> 
> Sirius slid down the hole in the trunk of the Whomping Willow, his tail wagging energetically. Behind him, he could hear James sliding down, probably backwards or headfirst, knowing him. Wormtail was waiting for them at the bottom of the chute when they came sliding out, and he immediately jumped onto James' back to hitch a ride. Sirius gave a loud woof of excitement as they set off down the passage together.
> 
> When they reached the Shrieking Shack, they heard shrieks of pain as Remus thrashed around the broken down building, and a loud crash that sounded as if the werewolf had chucked a table at the wall. Sirius reached up with a muddy black paw and turned the doorknob.
> 
> A giant werewolf was savagely tearing chunks out of a gray moth- eaten sofa with his teeth and claws. Shaggy, rumpled black fur covered his body, causing the wolf to resemble a giant shadow. Bright yellow eyes flashed as lightning illuminated the room. The wolf howled eerily every time thunder exploded outside. The room was destroyed, and Sirius noticed with satisfaction that they last complete table was indeed lying in pieces against the far wall. There were already many scratches along Moony's body, including a deep, nasty one all the way down his front left leg and paw. Thunder screeched again, and the werewolf snarled before turning his gaze to the animals in the doorway. For a heart stopping moment, no creature in the room moved.
> 
> Then Moony bared his teeth in a horrible grin, showing flecks of blood on his canines. _'If a werewolf's dreams could come true, the expression on it's face would look something like this,_' Sirius thought grimly. _'And he wasn't wishing for some friends to play with.'_
> 
> Even though he had done this countless times, Sirius's heart was beating fast. Moony started growling, and Sirius growled back. Taking a deep breath, Sirius leaned back on his powerful hind legs and sprang at the werewolf. He landed on Moony's back, wrestling with him and biting his ears. The pair rolled around on the floor, crashing into broken furniture and splintered wood. The racket was loud enough to wake the dead. Finally Sirius cornered Moony against the back of the sofa. The two animals hissed and spat at each other furiously, their teeth bared. Moony's ears were bloody and torn, while Sirius had a slash down the side of his muzzle and pieces of stuffing tangled in his fur. Then Prongs, realizing it was his turn to join the fight, galloped forward and forced the werewolf back against the sofa, pinning him between his antlers. Last to attack was Wormtail, who scurried forward, jumped, and bit Moony right on the nose. He hung on tightly, cold flesh clamped in his front teeth, waiting for the signal to let go.
> 
> Slowly, Moony stopped growling. His fur lay flat, and a look of surprise and recognition came into his eyes. The vicious, bloodthirsty spark disappeared. Wormtail let himself fall to the floor. Prongs pulled his antlers out of the fabric. Padfoot walked up to Moony and nudged his face; Moony nudged back. Sirius let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. It was over- as long as Moony had no contact with humans, he mind would stay as un-wolfish as was possible. Humans, though…humans would set off the wolf instincts like an alarm inside Moony's head.
> 
> The oddly assorted group of animals set off together down the passageway. Wormtail was on Prongs' back, Moony was limping because of his front paw, and Prongs was licking the cut on Padfoot's face. They all knew where they were going: to the shack behind the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
> 
> Sirius leaped with joy when they reached the hole in the Willow's trunk. It was still pouring, but the pounding droplets were almost soothing against his ripped fur. Wormtail had already pressed the knot, and he rejoined them a few seconds later. Now it was off to Hogsmeade, to explore whatever they pleased. _'Maybe even knick a few treats from Honeydukes,'_ Sirius thought happily. _'And some Bertie Bott's Beans for Sami, they're her favorite.'_
> 
> They reached the entrance to Hogsmeade around one o'clock, judging by what Sirius could make out of the large clock near the gates. _'We have about four hours till the sun comes up, that'll be plenty of time.'_ Now they all moved around Moony to conceal him as best they could: Sirius on the right, Prongs on the left, and Wormtail (now riding on Moony) keeping watch in the back. Sirius highly doubted anyone would be taking a leisurely stroll at one o'clock in the middle of a thunderstorm, but Peter always insisted. Once James had suggested that they put a Disillusionment Charm on Moony when they wanted to visit Hogsmeade, but Peter had squashed the idea instantly because there was no way they could charm Moony without him attacking them for being human.
> 
> By the time they reached the Three Broomsticks, the four of them were sopping wet but still in high spirits. Nobody- and no thing- had interfered. It was looking like another great night, and Sirius, feeling bold, let out a loud bark. Moony howled. Then they rounded the corner, the shack behind the Three Broomsticks came into view, and Sirius's heart stopped.
> 
> Sami Jackson was standing in front of the shack's moldy door, one hand on the rusty doorknob, staring at them with a look of utter horror on her face.
> 
> **................................................................**
> 
> So what are y'all waiting for!? Review!

> -Padfoot-Dreamer-


	4. A Secret Revealed

> **Chapter 4: A Secret Revealed**
> 
> **Padfoot's Story**
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling. Sami belongs to me!
> 
> Hello, and here's the next Chapter! Dun dun dun!
> 
> **...................................................**

> Sirius was in shock. He couldn't believe it; his mind couldn't accept it. What on earth was Sami Jackson doing here?! Was she the one the rumors had been talking about? Or was she here by accident, a silly coincidence...
> 
> Moony had started growling. Sirius didn't notice; he had forgotten all about the rain, and his friends, and the fact that humans would set off the wolf instincts in Moony's head. He had forgotten everything except for Sami standing in front of him. But Prongs and Wormtail noticed.
> 
> The vicious, bloodthirsty spark had rekindled in Moony's eyes. He was staring hungrily at Sami, even more hungrily that he had stared at Sirius in the Shrieking Shack. He was grinning evilly again, drooling, the drool falling and mixing with the rain that was running off Moony's nose. Wormtail started squeaking in terror and jumped off the werewolf onto Prongs' back. Prongs realized what was going to happen- immediately he jumped in front of Moony, lowering his antlers and blocking his view of the young witch. Sami was still frozen, horrified, in the position they had found her.
> 
> Moony snarled. Prongs pawed at the ground, his head low with his antlers in front of the werewolf's face, his eyes burning with fear and determination.
> 
> But Moony was not about to be stopped from getting at his prey. He jumped at Prongs, fangs grazing the side of his face. Prongs fell over, but was up again instantly, hooves slashing the air near Moony's head. Moony leapt onto Prong's back; began tearing at the tender skin- Wormtail had long since disappeared.
> 
> Sirius was still staring at Sami, indifferent to the scene next to him. Sami was staring at the fight as rain beat down mercilessly upon all of their heads. The battle wasn't looking good for Prongs. A loud, sickening crack split the air. The handsome stag, now red with blood, did not get up.
> 
> Moony had turned his eyes back to Sami. He licked his lips, blood dripping down his chin. Then, catlike, he pounced.
> 
> Sami let out a high-pitched scream. Only then did Sirius realize that he was still in the company of a werewolf...and that the werewolf meant to kill.
> 
> Sirius let loose a sound that was a cross between a horrified snarl and a desperate bark. Like Prongs, he leapt into Moony's path. Moony landed on top of him, surprised for a moment, but then began to tear at Padfoot's wet fur in his anger of being kept from human flesh. Sirius howled in pain, then rolled over and shook his fur, determined to fling the werewolf off him.
> 
> Sharp, jagged claws dug into Sirius's back as Moony launched off him, now having a clear field to Sami.
> 
> Sirius froze, horrified. Time slowed. She was going to die. He was going to watch one of his best friends tear Sami into a bloody, mangled mess...even though they had been so careful, Moony had gotten away at last...there was nothing he could do to save her...
> 
> _'NO!'_
> 
> In a split second decision, without having time to think, without even really being aware of doing it, Sirius was standing in front of Sami, with a savage, deadly werewolf in mid-leap to his face. Yes, he was standing...a seventeen-year-old, terrified, all too human Sirius was standing in front of Sami Jackson, clutching his wand, and yelling the first spell that came to him.

> _"STUPEFY!"_
> 
> The werewolf stopped, frozen in mid- snarl, and fell in a heap onto the ground. Sirius stood, panting, his wand still raised. That was the closest Moony had ever come to attacking a human, and his mind was still in shock. Revelations of the consequences of what had nearly happened flashed through his head...If Sami had been bitten, not only would would she be dead, but Dumbledore- and, well, the world- would have discovered their secret.
> 
> Then, to Sirius's complete amazement, a limping, bloody stag stumbled over to Moony and dragged the stunned werewolf out of sight. Sirius heard a dry sob come from behind him, and he turned around to face Sami.
> 
> Tears were streaming down her face, and her left hand was still on the doorknob. Her other arm was outstretched, her hand clutching her wand.
> 
> Sirius stared at the wand. Of course- one Stunning spell was nowhere near powerful enough to knock out a werewolf; Sami had stunned him too. Sirius then returned his gaze to her face. '_She's still pretty, even with her hair plastered to her head and her face as white as chalk,'_ he thought, dazed.
> 
> "Sami?" he said out loud, uncertainly. He hesitated, then walked over to her.
> 
> "Oh, _Sirius!_" she sobbed, wrapping her arms around him for support.
> 
> Sirius hadn't been expecting this type of reaction; after all, she had never spoken to him before. Awkwardly, he patted her on the head. Her head barely reached his chin.
> 
> Slowly her sobs quieted, and she stepped away from him. She rubbed her eyes, which had turned red and puffy.
> 
> For a moment they just stood there, looking at each other. Then Sirius said quietly, "Umm, should we go inside then?"
> 
> She hesitated, looking as though it was a good idea as long as he didn't come along, but nodded. He turned to open the door and gasped- the doorknob had disappeared.
> 
> "You've waited too long," she explained shakily. "Now I have to repeat the password." She leaned close and mumbled something to the door so that Sirius couldn't hear. When she stepped back, the rusty brass doorknob had reappeared. She tugged on it, and without further explanation, she grabbed Sirius's hand and pulled him inside.
> 
> **.......................................................**

> Hmmmmmm, what is inside the door? (Blinks before remembering I'm the author) Oh yeah, I get to decide! Review please, as always.
> 
> -Padfoot-Dreamer-


	5. The Room of Rebellion

> **Chapter 5: The Room of Rebellion**
> 
> **Padfoot's Story**
> 
> Disclaimer: I had to beg J.K. Rowling to let me borrow her characters. They're all hers, Sami is mine.
> 
> Be awed by my writing skills as my story unfolds...ha. I crack myself up sometimes...
> 
> **..........................................................**
> 
> Sirius had quickly prepared himself for a great number of things that could have possibly been behind the door, so he was surprised to find himself in complete darkness.
> 
> Next to him, Sami had let go of his hand.
> 
> _"Lumos."_
> 
> Sami's wand lit, throwing small shafts of light onto the depressing stone walls. "Follow me," she whispered to Sirius, and they set off down a dark corridor.
> 
> The corridor branched off several times, and Sami changed direction every few minutes. Sirius soon lost all sense of direction as the path they were following twisted around in all directions. The only light was coming from the end of Sami's wand, and Sirius began staring at it out of sheer boredom. He came to realize that the entire floor of this particular passageway was tiled. Each tile was white with an orange lily in the center. After the first ten minutes Sirius lost the excitement he had first had in walking alone with Sami beside him, and became so bored from the lack of scenery it was a chore just to pick up his foot and put it in front of the other. Not to mention that the passageway was extremely cold; and it smelled dank and moldy, as if it hadn't been cleaned in centuries. He didn't notice the gradual downward slope of the floor.
> 
> They turned a corner and started walking down a flight of stairs. Sirius lost count at two hundred when his eyes started to droop, and he stumbled. Before he could hit the floor and roll down the rest of the stairs, though, he transformed, and landed neatly on all four feet. Sirius noticed right away that it took much less effort to walk this way, and had no intention of changing back.
> 
> "Don't transform," Sami said abruptly. "The others won't be far behind."
> 
> The dog shot her a very grumpy look, which she ignored, and transformed again.
> 
> Sirius was about to keel over from exhaustion when the stairs ended. They walked about ten feet, before reaching a very solid stone wall.
> 
> "A dead end?" said Sirius incredulously. "We walked all this way to reach a _dead end?_"
> 
> "Of course not," Sami replied briskly. "You just have to know how to, you know, get past."
> 
> Sirius stared at her, his patience wearing thin. She knelt down and held her lit wand over the flowered tiles. Sirius looked down and noticed something unusual- even though every other tile in the entire passageway sported an orange lily, the flower lit up by Sami's wand was painted yellow.
> 
> _"Nox,"_ she whispered.
> 
> "Can you light up your wand?" Sami asked Sirius quietly, leaning back on the balls of her feet to look up at him. "I need to use mine to sign my name, and it makes it easier if I can see the tile." Sirius did so. "Thanks." She bent closer, and began to trace letters onto the tile with her wand. As Sirius watched, the words "Sami Jackson" etched themselves into the tile in fiery red letters.
> 
> "Wicked," Sirius whispered.
> 
> There was a loud clicking noise, and a wooden door appeared in the stone wall. At the look of shock on Sirius's face, Sami said, "It will only let you in if you're part of the Order."

> _'Well, that explains a lot,'_ Sirius thought sarcastically.

> "Let's go, I guess," Sami said uncertainly with a glance at Sirius, and opened the door. Sirius followed.
> 
> His foot slipped on stone and he landed on his butt, only to begin sliding downward. The chute was hard, cold, and bumpy, but blissfully short. Sirius slid out the bottom onto a shaggy, scarlet rug that covered the entire floor. He was in a small circular room with burgundy walls and a roaring fire in the fireplace. The room smelled vaguely of orange peel and cinnamon._ 'An odd combination, but very nice,'_ Sirius thought approvingly.
> 
> He looked up. The ceiling was enchanted the same way as in the Great Hall, to look like the weather outside. It made the room seem all the more cozy, to know that a thunderstorm was raging outside and a fire was roaring in the fireplace.
> 
> Then he turned around, and his jaw dropped. Taking up the entire wall and covering half the room was a gigantic map of the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade. It was in color, and showed every perfect detail of the insides of the buildings. It was almost like a huge Marauder's Map.
> 
> Wait a minute...it _was_ a huge Marauder's Map! Black dots the size of quarters were running across the map, all moving down the passageway towards the circular room.
> 
> "You're looking at all the members of the Order of the Phoenix. If you're wondering why they're so far apart, everyone enters in five minute intervals, so as not to attract attention," Sami said from across the room. Sirius turned to look at her. She was seated Indian Style on a scarlet couch along the other wall, her hands on her knees. She looked as if she wanted to get the explaining over with as quickly as possible. "And, of course, the map doesn't only show Order members. It'll show You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters if they come into range of the map as well. We really only need it to make sure we're not being followed." Sami paused to draw breath.
> 
> "What's the Order of the Phoenix?" Sirius asked swiftly.
> 
> Sami gave him a hard look, then sighed. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but it's a secret organization that Professor Dumbledore founded about a month ago. We try to track down You-Know-Who and keep aware of his plans, goals, and recent crimes. We try to stop him building up an army and prevent as many deaths as we can. We're pretty much the only chance this world has of getting rid of him once and for all."
> 
> Sirius's eyes widened. She certainly had his attention.
> 
> Sami continued. "This is the headquarters. We're pretty deep underground, in case you noticed that corridor was way longer than the shack behind the Three Broomsticks. Professor Dumbledore was really brilliant with the protective charms he put on it to stop anyone from breaking in here."
> 
> "Why didn't he just make it unplottable?" Sirius asked.
> 
> "Well," Sami said thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure You-Know-Who knows it exists, you know, I mean, everybody knew about this shack in his time. They'd dare each other to spend the night here and stupid stuff like that. I guess Professor Dumbledore thought You-Know-Who might guess the headquarters were here if he made it unplottable. So instead he put a load of charms on it to make it impossible to break in unless you're a member. You can't Apparate in here, you know. And if you say the wrong password at the door to the shack or write someone's name on the tile who doesn't belong to the Order, some pretty nasty stuff will happen to you. Also, he really outdid himself decorating this room- he wanted it to be comfortable. We call it the Room of Rebellion, because we mostly plan our fight against You-Know-Who in here. There are several other rooms off that passageway with other uses, but I've never been in any of them. Anyway, tonight's one of the meetings. The rest of the Order should be here any minute; they seem to have caught up to each other now."
> 
> "Who's in the Order?" Sirius asked curiously.
> 
> "You'll see," she replied, grinning. "They aren't very many of us yet, but Dumbledore plans to recruit a lot more people after they graduate this year."
> 
> "For instance?"
> 
> "Well, all the people who get enough N.E.W.T.'s and decide to become Aurors, and some people who end up getting jobs in the Ministry- spies in the Ministry are important. And just about anybody else who's close to him and is willing to face the danger. Personally, I think he has his eye on you, James, and the rest of the gang," she said, now smiling shyly.
> 
> Sirius looked away from her, considering what it would be like to join the Order of the Phoenix and defy Voldemort. The thought of the incredible danger he'd be staring in the face was already giving him a thrill...so why couldn't he join now? Sami belonged to the Order and she hadn't graduated yet...and he _had_ always wanted to be an Auror.
> 
> Sirius looked up instantly when he heard loud clanging and thumping noises coming from inside the chute. He glanced over at the map. An awful lot of black quarter- sized dots were sliding down the chute towards the Room of Rebellion...
> 
> Sirius grunted in surprise as he did a complete somersault and landed on his back, groaning. Something very large had just hit him from behind. The room spun. Rubbing the top of his head, he looked up.
> 
> A small group of witches and wizards had come hurtling out of the chute and crashed into him. They were now all standing in a semi-circle around Sirius, looking down at him with interest.
> 
> Sirius stood up hastily and tried to wring some of the water out of his robes. Sami walked over to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
> 
> "Everyone, this is Sirius Black, one of my fellow students from Hogwarts," she began in a small voice. "He's in Gryffindor. Sirius, I'd like to introduce you to the members of the Order of the Phoenix." He noticed her voice becoming more confident when no one appeared upset about him being at the meeting. "You already know Professor Dumbledore-" Sirius nodded and Professor Dumbledore smiled at him, "and that's Hagrid, obviously-" Hagrid, whom Sirius had noticed immediately, waved at him and Sirius grinned, "this is Alastor Moody, he's an Auror-" a man with gray hair, a creepy large blue eye that was rolling in all directions, a peg leg, and a very scarred face nodded...
> 
> Sami continued pointing out the last few members of the Order, whom Sirius didn't know and whose names he would forget by tomorrow morning.
> 
> Professor Dumbledore moved close to Sami as the others settled onto the couch and armchairs. Quietly, he said, "Why is he here, Sami? I thought we discussed that you were the only student we would induct who had not yet graduated."
> 
> Sami whispered, "Well, he...um..." she stole a look at Sirius, who was listening closely. He could tell she was doing some quick thinking. "We were studying in the library, and I couldn't shake him off," she finished lamely. Sirius raised his eyebrows at her. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink.
> 
> Professor Dumbledore nodded, looking thoughtful. Sirius couldn't tell if he believed her or not.
> 
> "Well, as long as he doesn't join us for future meetings, I suppose it's fine for tonight."
> 
> Here Sirius interrupted, slightly annoyed.

> "But Professor Dumbledore, sir...I'd love to join! I think there's a lot I could do for the Order...you see, my friends and I-"
> 
> Sirius stopped, horrified. He had almost revealed that he, James, and Peter were illegal animagi...
> 
> "Yes?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
> 
> "Never mind," Sirius mumbled. Professor Dumbledore sighed.
> 
> "Well, in any case, I'm afraid we can only accept students who have graduated from school. You can not possibly comprehend the amount of danger you would be putting yourself in."
> 
> Sirius started to lose his temper.
> 
> "But I'm seventeen, I'm going to graduate in two months, I know plenty of defensive spells and charms! I can take care of myself-"
> 
> It angered Sirius even more that his words seemed to be having no effect on the headmaster.
> 
> "I'm not scared of Voldemort!" he finished. Sami's grip tightened on his shoulder.
> 
> "Be that as it may," said Dumbledore patiently, "It's a rule of the Order not to recruit people if they haven't graduated."
> 
> For a moment Sirius accepted this answer, until he remembered the Ravenclaw girl standing next to him.
> 
> "Hang on...What about Sami?" demanded Sirius. "I notice _she _hasn't graduated yet!"
> 
> Professor Dumbledore glanced at Sami, who shook her head.
> 
> "Sami has a very convenient way of disguising herself to spy and retrieve information for us," Professor Dumbledore replied simply. Sirius waited for a more informative explanation, but he left it at that.
> 
> The headmaster walked over to the wall opposite the map. Sami steered Sirius toward the couch, where a few other members were already lounging, and sat down next to him.
> 
> Professor Dumbledore stood by the wall in front of the other members and surveyed them all over his half-moon glasses. He knew they were going to give Voldemort a tough fight, maybe even be able to finish him off- and then there was the added benefit of he himself being the only wizard Voldemort was afraid of. Professor Dumbledore shifted his gaze to his youngest member, Sami Jackson, and the handsome young man she had brought along for a reason she refused to admit- he could easily tell when someone was lying to him if they made eye contact, and was therefore certain Sami and Sirius had _not_ been having a cozy study session in the library. _'They make a very nice couple,'_ Professor Dumbledore thought, amused. _'Yes, a very nice couple indeed. Now Sirius can join the Order once he's out of school. And maybe James too... perhaps Lily will finally go out with him...'_ and now grinning broadly, Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. The Order looked up at him expectantly.
> 
> He tapped the wall twice with his wand, and a section of the wall flipped upside down to reveal a large bulletin board; there were several snipped-out articles from the Daily Prophet, photographs of a young Tom Riddle, and a world map with little red pins glowing in certain countries on it.
> 
> "So," began Dumbledore clearly, "concerning Voldemort's whereabouts-"
> 
> Everyone except Sirius flinched.
> 
> -----------------------------------------
> 
> A few hours later, Sirius was walking back down the passageway with Sami, tired but exhilarated. (The members of the Order had left in groups of twos and threes, as it was now daylight and would look suspicious if such a large group of people all walked by the Three Broomsticks together.) Sirius had completely forgotten about the eventful 'werewolf' episode of the night before. He kept replaying the meeting in his head; how they had discussed the latest murders, talked about Voldemort's plans to build up his army and take over the Ministry (and how to stop them), who might be Death Eaters in Voldemort's inner circle, and which Ministry workers (who had recently been acting suspiciously) might be controlled by the Imperius Curse. At the end, they had paired up (Sirius with Sami, of course) and practiced jinxes, stunning and disarming spells, and the Patronus Charm (which extremely frustrated him because Sami had it down and he could only produce silver vapor. Perhaps the memory of Snivellus sprouting long pink hair all over his body simply wasn't strong enough...).
> 
> Sirius and Sami remained silent the entire trip, although one would occasionally catch the other grinning at them. This always made Sirius's stomach lurch excitedly.
> 
> Finally they made it to the doorknob. There was something very important Sirius wanted to ask Sami- something he had been dying to ask her for over a year- but he still couldn't work bring himself to do it. Instead he just looked at her with a lopsided grin on his face, the same one he had worn after the day at Hogsmeade.
> 
> "What?" she asked him curiously. He shook his head, still wearing a goofy grin. "Well," she said, now smiling as well, "That was a pretty incredible Friday night. I know I probably shouldn't have brought you in there, but- well, do you think you might join, when you...when you graduate?"
> 
> "Of course!" Sirius said instantly, and her smile widened.
> 
> "Great!" she said excitedly. "It would- it would make the meetings a lot more fun. Oh- and Sirius...thanks again for saving my life."
> 
> She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He stiffened and raised a hand to touch the place where she had kissed him, then stared at her. Her face was red.
> 
> "You're welcome," he said, as the past night's events came flooding back. She giggled nervously. Then she turned the doorknob and the pair of them walked out into the Saturday sunshine.
> 
> --------------------------------------
> 
> It was a Friday morning, in fact, the Friday morning one week after the Order of the Phoenix meeting. Sami had just sat down for breakfast and was chatting with her friends at the Ravenclaw table. She had come from outside, where she had been up early playing with Sirius by the lake- as a dog, of course. They had been playing fetch with a tennis ball. She still called him 'Pepper' whenever she saw him as a dog.
> 
> And yet they hadn't seen each other all week when they were _both _human –except for a stolen glance during class or a friendly hello in the hallway. Sami wished he wasn't so shy.
> 
> "Oh, look, the mail's here," said a fifth year named Rose three seats down.
> 
> Sami didn't look up, she had gotten used to the sight of owls soaring overhead years ago. Besides, she didn't get letters very often. Just one from her parents every month or so to see how she was doing.
> 
> So she was extremely surprised when a ruffled-looking barn owl landed in front of her, knocking over her orange juice and anxious to deliver its letter.
> 
> She reached out uncertainly and untied the scroll. The owl stole some bacon from her plate and flew off.
> 
> Just then, Lily appeared, having walked over from the Gryffindor table to say good morning.
> 
> "What's that you've got there?" she asked, pointing to the scroll of parchment.
> 
> "I don't know," Sami replied, frowning slightly.
> 
> She turned the scroll over and saw a very muddy paw print over the seal. Instantly her frown turned into a grin. Sami tore open the letter and started reading quickly, Lily looking over her shoulder. When she finished, her grin stretched as wide as it would go.
> 
> **...................................................................**
> 
> I realize that this isn't _really_ the original Order of the Phoenix, because Remus, Lily, James, Peter, and a bunch of other people aren't in it, but they're all going to join when they graduate! Please review, you know I love them!
> 
> -Padfoot-Dreamer-


	6. The Contents of the Letter

**Chapter 6: The Contents of the Letter**

**Padfoot's Story**

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.

(Drumroll, please) The 6th Chapter is here!

* * *

Sami reread the letter joyfully.

_Hey Sami, hopefully you're reading this without Lily hanging over your shoulder since this is sort of private in more ways than one. _

She hadn't registered this first bit the first time, because she had merely scanned it to see what it was about. Sami immediately hitched the letter out of Lily's sight.

"Don't bother," Lily said, giggling. "I've already finished. He knows me a little too well, doesn't he? And I've hardly ever talked to him, considering who he hangs out with."

"You're full of it," Sami replied dryly. "You've liked James for ages. I'm starting to get sick of hearing about him. Just stop pretending and go out with him."

"Hey, that isn't fair!" Lily said, trying to look hurt. "As if I'm not starting to get sick of hearing about Sirius Black! Still, maybe I won't have to listen to it anymore, since you're going to be a couple and all," she finished brightly.

Sami shook her head, smiling. Teasing aside, she knew there was no one else she would trust with personal information such as boys besides Lily Evans. She returned to her letter.

_We've been hanging out for two weeks or so, and of course I've always been a dog. I'd like to apologize for not telling you about it sooner. You shouldn't have had to find out the way that you did. And I'd also like to confess I like you- a lot. I have no idea if the feeling is mutual, but I've finally worked up the nerve to do something I've wanted to do for ages. Will you go out with me, next Friday night? If you'd like to, come see me and I'll give you the details. I didn't want to put it in this letter in case Lily really IS reading over your shoulder._

_Anxiously waiting for your answer, Sirius_

She looked up and glanced at the Gryffindor table, where James, Peter, Remus, and Sirius were sitting together. Sirius was staring at her. She caught his eye and he gave her a weak grin before turning away. Sami grinned and pocketed the letter.

"You're going to say yes, aren't you?" Lily asked.

Sami turned to her. "Of course, are you crazy?"

Lily nodded in approval. "Good. Now you can explain exactly what he was talking about. What does he mean, a dog? Does that mean he's acted like an idiot around you, or something?"

"I can't tell you that, it's his business."

"Aww, c'mon, Sami! When have I ever told anyone your secrets?"

"It isn't my secret to tell."

"Yes it is, if you're going to start going out with him!"

"Nothing's final yet! And it's only one date, anyway, we aren't going steady!"

"How can you say that? You aren't going to let him get away, not now! You'd have to be insane!"

_"Shhh!"_

Lily closed her mouth, she hadn't realized how loud the argument had become. People were starting to stare at them.

"Just tell me, i can't be _that_ bad," Lily insisted, her voice low.

Sami was looking grumpy. "You don't even care hat it is, you just want to know for the sake of winning the argument."

"Well, I _do_ always win," Lily said, winking.

Sami sighed. "Do you absolutely promise not to tell _anybody_?"

Lily grinned, she could always get Sami to tell her anything if she tried hard enough.

"Of course, I've never broken a promise."

"If you tell I'll put a tickling hex on you until you die laughing."

"Just get on with it!!"

"Alright, alright." Sami lowered her voice and leaned close to Lily's ear. "He's an unregistered animagus. He's that black dog we met in Hogsmeade, remember?"

Lily's mouth dropped. "You're kidding! He's that dog? The one you've been playing with every day since? I can't believe it! Well, scratch that, I can. You guys will be the _perfect_ couple! How did you find out?"

"Shhhh!" Sami said frantically. People were starting to give them looks again.

"Sorry," Lily said sheepishly, lowering her voice too.

Sami continued, leaning close to Lily's ear. "I found out on the way to an Order meeting." She didn't want to elaborate; she had yet to tell Lily about the werewolf episode.

"Has he told Dumbledore? Cause he'll let Sirius join if he knows he's an animagus. I'm still mad he won't let ME join, you know," she grumbled.

"He doesn't like taking on students, you know that. If a student died, the Ministry would look into it, obviously, and Dumbledore doesn't want them to know about the Order. They'd think Dumbledore doesn't believe they can handle the You- Know- Who business. And Sirius didn't tell Dumbledore about the dog thing; there was a perfect opportunity to tell him- yes, he _did_ come to the meeting with me, Lily- and he almost let it slip, but then acted like he'd been rambling. I think this secret is more important than he lets on."

"Yeah, well, find out next Friday, will you? And I can't believe you brought him to the meeting! You won't even bring _me_ to a meeting!" Lily said crossly.

"I thought he'd want to tell Dumbledore," Sami said hastily. "And don't worry, you'll hear _all_ about what happens Saturday morning."

Over at the Gryffindor table, Sirius's face was still flushed and his mind was racing. Part of him wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out, part of him was glad he had finally done it, and still another part of him, he admitted, was terrified of being rejected.

James clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, mate, you finally did it. Now you just have to wait and see what she says."

Actually, after what James and Remus had been able to worm out of him once they were released from the hospital wing (Sirius was no better at concealing information than Sami) James had basically forced him to write and ask Sami out. Sirius had endured half an hour of the Jelly-Legs Jinx before agreeing to do it.

"Hope it's better news than Lily usually has for you, huh, James?" Sirius replied slyly, but his voice shook slightly and revealed his nerves about the whole situation.

Remus laughed and then winced; a deep cut that ran from his nose to his jaw line had started stinging. All of them had suffered minor injuries (well, if you could call a dislocated shoulder for Remus, a broken leg and wrist for James, and a puffy black eye for Sirius minor) except Peter. They were all still pretty mad at Peter for abandoning them like that and being so cowardly, but as he had put it in a scared, squeaky voice, "What could a rat have done to stop a werewolf?" They hadn't spoken to him since.

Sirius hadn't felt that his injuries were severe enough to go to the hospital wing, but Remus and James had obviously needed to. Madam Pomfrey was used to Remus showing up after the full moon because he often injured himself in the absence of humans, but James had had to blame it on Quidditch practice. They were lucky Madam Pomfrey wasn't the kind to ask too many questions. She had been able to heal them in a wink, of course, but James and Remus were still sore enough from all the cuts and bruises.

"Actually," James answered calmly with a smug grin on his face, now buttering a muffin and jerking Sirius unpleasantly back to reality, "I plan to ask her out again today. Maybe we can make it a double date, eh, Padfoot?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It was _my_ idea to take her to the Shrieking Shack. Therefore, _you _are not going to disturb us. If she says yes, that is."

"You know, I still don't think it's a good idea to take her there. She already knows too much," James said flatly.

"Because of us, she came close to having to join Remus there every month," Sirius replied firmly. "She deserves to know the truth."

"Yeah," Remus sniggered from across the table. "Plus it's an old dump. Broken furniture, blood spattered everywhere, reputation of being haunted. Very romantic choice, Padfoot." He rolled his eyes. "And exactly _what_ makes you so sure that this time Lily will go out with you anyway, James?" He broke off for a moment, snickering. "If I can recall, this will be the-" he had to stuff his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, yellow piece of parchment. He unrolled it and continued, his words barely distinguishable through the laughter- "three hundred and first attempt?"

"You've been keeping track?" James said doubtfully, looking suspiciously at the old piece of parchment.

"You bet, Prongs old buddy," Remus said proudly. "I've got the dates of them all _and_ her responses. I knew right away a record such as this would be perfect blackmail material- I imagine Lily would find it very amusing, don't you agree?"

"Give me that!" James shouted fiercely. Remus pretended to look horrified. James reached for his wand.

Remus swore and jumped up from the table, eyeing the wand. Sirius was laughing hysterically, doubled over. Even Peter was giggling nervously.

"Give me that, _now,_" James said, his voice low and dangerous. Remus grinned and bolted towards the Great Hall's doors.

Everyone in the Great Hall joined Sirius in laughing fits as Remus Lupin ran from the hall waving a piece of parchment, James Potter on his heels yelling "Accio!" the entire way.

Later that day, after Transfiguration, Sirius was curled up in the library, trying to bully his mind into memorizing how to mix a Stress-Relieving Potion.

_'I could use one right now,'_ Sirius thought unhappily. Everyone in his year could, since N.E.W.T.s were just over five weeks away (it was the first week of May) and several people were having nervous breakdowns.

Sirius sighed and set his notes down on his lap. There was no way studying would do any good; he was too worried about Sami and her reaction to the letter. She still hadn't approached him with her answer, and he hadn't thought about anything else all day, even throughout Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was his favorite subject.

Sighing mournfully, he rubbed his forehead, which was pounding from studying, and looked up.

Sami had just walked through of the doors of the library. She paused for a second, scanning the room, then her eyes locked with his and she began making her way toward him. Sirius's mind froze. She took a seat in an armchair next to his and looked at her hands for a moment. Sirius watched her intently, tense in his chair.. Then she turned and looked at him, her bright green eyes sparkling. "Hi," she said finally. "I got your letter."

Stating the obvious wasn't the best way to start a conversation, but Sirius would have welcomed anything to break the silence.

Sami opened her mouth and stumbled upon her words, trying to think of what to say. She had rehearsed it over and over, but suddenly she couldn't remember a word of it.

"It t-took me forever to f-find you," she said slowly. She was even having trouble remembering how to speak English. "I kept hoping you weren't in your common room, but then I found James fuming over something, and he told me you'd be here."

Sirius felt a small smile creep over his face. Apparently James had never gotten the parchment from Remus.

Sami took a deep breath, and then said, "Listen- I'd love to go out with you."

Sirius blinked. The words hung in the air between them. He wanted to reach out and grab them; make sure they were real.

"Really? You'd really like to?" he asked uncertainly. He was scared of her answer; afraid it was all a joke.

She smiled happily. "Really. So, can you tell me where we're going?"

"No, that's part of the surprise," Sirius replied, dazed and in awe of his good luck. "But I'll tell you what I can..."

She dragged her chair a bit closer to listen to him talk, and loved the sound of his voice.

* * *

In the next Chapter we actually get some romance! Three cheers for romace! Woot woot!

-Padfoot-dreamer-


	7. In The Shrieking Shack Again: The Date

Chapter 7: In the Shrieking Shack Again

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: They're not mine, except Sami. Don't sue me.

And to think that on my first fanfic, I've come this far without getting a flame! *blush* Now on with the Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Sirius stood examining his reflection in the dormitory mirror. He has chosen his outfit particularly carefully tonight, as he would be going out on his first date with a pretty Ravenclaw seventh-year, Sami Jackson.

          Butterflies were bouncing recklessly around Sirius's stomach. In a sudden movement he reached up and dragged a comb through his black hair. 

          "Alright," he admitted to himself, "so it shouldn't have taken you this long to pick out an ordinary green sweater and plain old jeans." But he hadn't known how to dress: fancy, casually, conservatively (etc.) . . .

          But at least he knew to dress warmly. He and Sami were going to be out late, and although it was strange weather for early May, the nights were very cool. 

          "That's as good as it's gonna get," he muttered mournfully and sat down on his bed.

Remus looked up from the foot of HIS bed, where he was sprawled working on an essay titled "Explain What Was Done To Prevent The Golden Snidget From Being Hunted to Extinction." 

             "I wouldn't have thought you'd know how to dress like a muggle," he said with mild interest, "With the way your parents act and everything."

             "I dress this way in the summer," Sirius said wearily. "It used to annoy them, but I think these clothes are more comfortable."

             "Are you nervous?" Peter asked from across the room. Sirius made a point of ignoring him.

             "I wouldn't be," Remus said distractedly, his quill scratching against the parchment. Sirius stared at him until he looked up.

             "Well, I'd much rather go then be stuck here on a perfectly good Friday night working on this essay. It's taking forever; how are you supposed to go on for one and a half feet about a little bird?"

             "Be thankful," Sirius shot back, "At least YOU get to write about something associated with Quidditch. I have to write two feet on how vampire rights have changed since the fifteenth century."

             Sirius was quite sure that Remus would have continued with his list of impossible homework assignments if James hadn't burst through the door at that moment, his hair sticking on end and completely out of breath. He had a very triumphant look on his face.

             He collapsed on his bed and started laughing madly. Sirius and Remus exchanged knowing looks and got off their beds. Peter followed.

             "So, Prongs has lost his mind at last," Remus said casually, leaning against the bedpost. "We were keeping bets on how long it'd take you to crack, you know."

             James ran his fingers through his hair, his breath coming in ragged gasps. When he finally had enough breath to talk, he yelled, "Lily said yes!" 

             Sirius looked sideways at Remus, his mouth twitching to keep back a smile. Remus looked so shocked that Sirius thought of an expression his mother had once used- "You could knock him over with a feather."

             Remus recovered and laughed. "Yep, nice try, it was almost convincing that time."

             James shook his head and pounded his pillow in excitement. "I asked her just now in the Great Hall, and she said yes! Ahahaha, IN YOUR FACE! ("Rainbow," brings back good memories doesn't it?) Your piece of parchment means nothing now!"

             He sat up and stabbed his finger in Remus' chest, who fell backwards over James' trunk and landed in a heap of robes and dirty socks. "So I guess a feather really could have knocked him over," Sirius thought in amusement.

             James ran around the room, whooping, then grabbed a pillow and hit Sirius on the head with it. A very enthusiastic pillow fight followed on James' bed, with Remus still on the floor and Peter hovering uncertainly over him. 

             "Headline in the Daily Prophet tomorrow," Remus said weakly, but loud enough for Sirius to hear him, 'James Potter goes bonkers convincing himself he got the Girl and injures roommates.'"

             "Hey Sirius," James said dramatically, dropping his pillow in mock astonishment, "is that a STAIN?" 

             Sirius looked down frantically at his sweater.

             "Wow," James said seriously, "I didn't think it would work." He leaned forward and emptied an entire bottle of ink down Sirius's front.

             "James Potter, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

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             A short while later the Marauders were sitting in the common room, discussing what they would do after they left Hogwarts. They had all agreed to join the Order, but made a pact not to tell Dumbledore about being animagi. Sirius remembered the conversation from that day clearly.

             *Flashback* "So, I'm going to join as soon as I graduate," Sirius said comfortably, leaning back in his chair after telling the others about the Order. "What about you?"

             "Of course, are you kidding?" they said in unison, James adding, "You think we'd miss out on a chance to fight Voldemort?"

             Sirius shrugged. James continued, "But I don't see why we shouldn't join now. I'm sure if we tell Dumbledore we're animagi, he'll let us join immediately-"

             "No!" Remus hissed, looking around fearfully. "He'll find out about what we do!"

             James looked indignant. "I didn't say tell him about THAT, he knows we're smart, we could have learned how just for the heck of it-"

             "Dumbledore's not stupid," Peter said suddenly, "He'll put two and two together, quicker than you can catch a Snitch." James made a face at him.

             "It's illegal not to have told him sooner anyway," Remus said firmly, "So let's promise, here and now, not to tell him about the Marauders, and wait until we graduate. Agreed?"

             "Agreed," they chorused. *End flashback*  
             Sirius checked the Grandfather Clock in the corner of the common room and stood up. 

             "It's almost eight," he said, his voice high and squeaky. Inwardly he groaned, he sounded like Peter. "See you guys later."

             James grinned cheekily and gave him thumbs up. Sirius rolled his eyes.

             "Have fun in the old shack," Remus said vaguely, then returned to setting up a chessboard. Sirius shook his head hopelessly at his friends, picked up his school bag (there were some things he wanted to bring) and walked through the portrait hole.

             He was going to meet Sami at the bottom of the marble staircase. On the way down he fiddled with his shirt and toyed with his hair. The ink had disappeared after a while, but not before changing colors so he looked like a living rainbow. Plus he had somehow managed to do a Concealing Charm on his black eye. It was still a little purple near the eyelid, but Sami wouldn't be close enough to see that- would she?

             Sirius sat down on the last step of the staircase and held his head in his hands. 

             "I've been on dates before," he muttered under his breath to reassure himself, "And most of them went fine. Girls are crazy about you; remember that, Padfoot, you've seen them fall all over you every day . . . even though you needed an attitude adjustment, you're fine now, so WHY are you so worried . . ."

             "Because I'm more important than the other girls?" a voice said lightly from behind him. He 

wheeled around to stare at Sami, who was leaning against the banister three steps up.   

             "How long have you been listening?" he asked accusingly.

             She laughed. "I followed you all the way down, since the fifth floor."

             He was at a loss for words, staring at her; she looked so pretty. He had told her to dress warmly, too, and she was wearing a wool navy sweater and a knee-length white skirt that looked as if it was made entirely of delicate lace. Her thick chocolate curls were hanging in a halo around her face, and there was a white lily ("What's with all the lilies?" Sirius thought) tucked behind her ear. 

             "Well . . .should we go then?" she asked, obviously thinking he was angry. Sirius laughed nervously, remembering how he had said that only two weeks ago.

             "Sure," he said and stood up. "Oh," he said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a rose, "I almost forgot, this is for you."

             She smiled and smelled the flower. "Thanks, that's really sweet," she said happily, and they set off together to the castle doors.

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             The night was clear and refreshingly breezy, and the air smelled like violets. Sirius and Sami walked across the school grounds towards the Whomping Willow, although Sami didn't know that that was were they were headed. Sirius had put a lot of thought into this date, and done a lot of work on the Shrieking Shack (sometimes with the help of the rest of the Marauders) since Sami had agreed to go out with him.

             The sun was setting over the lake. Sami watched it wistfully, her hair billowing around her shoulders. She was still holding tightly onto the rose.

             "Pretty sunset, isn't it?" she said softly.

             "Yeah, it reminds me of you," Sirius said before he could stop himself. Sami smiled at him and reached up to ruffle his hair. He ducked, but not fast enough. 

             "So do I get to know where we're going yet?" she asked him teasingly.

             "We'll be there soon enough," he answered gruffly. They were now in sight of the Whomping Willow, and Sami noticed it.

             "I always wondered why they planted that tree," she said thoughtfully. "They did it in our first year, remember? I always thought it was so ugly that they wouldn't have planted it unless there was a purpose- I mean, so maybe it's rare, but that one kid almost lost an eye- what do you think?"

             "I think you'll know the purpose of it soon enough," he replied heavily. She gave him an odd look and fell silent.

             After a few more seconds, she became suspicious. "Sirius," she asked as though fearful for his sanity, "Why are we getting so close to this tree?"

             "Because it's guarding the only way to get to where we want to go," he said slowly. "Stay here."

             He transformed and darted forward just as the branches began to swing at him. Amidst the swirl of thrashing leaves he tried to find the knot at the base of the trunk. He heard Sami scream behind him and prayed she hadn't gotten hurt.

             Come on; come on, where is it? A branch narrowly missed Sirius's head. Aha, finally! He pressed it hard with his paws and, to his immense relief, the tree froze as if carved from stone. He now had a lot more sympathy for Wormtail- but then again it had to be easier for a rat.

             "Sirius?"

             Sami was ducking underneath the frozen branches to reach him. She looked badly shaken, but otherwise fine. Sirius transformed back and crawled to meet her.

             "Sorry," he said, taking her hand to help her navigate the branches, "I know that must have been kind of scary."

             "H-how did you know?" she asked weakly.

             Sirius thought about his answer. He knew he would have to tell her the truth at some point, but he wasn't ready to explain it all yet.

             "My friends and I have done this loads of times," he said carefully. "Just don't tell anyone about it, okay? They could get hurt. A lot of people could get hurt, and not just physically." He said that thinking of Moony and what would happen if it got out that he was a werewolf. Sami nodded.

                   Sirius helped her through the tangle of stiff branches to the other side of the trunk, and she gasped- there was a hole at the base of the trunk large enough for an average- sized person to slide through.

             "I'll go first, then you follow me," Sirius told her, and when he saw her hesitate, he added, "It's kind of fun sliding down it, actually. And nothing down there can hurt you. I've spent a lot of time fixing the place up, so I THINK you'll like it . . . and if you don't pretend you do anyway."

             Smirking slightly he slid down the hole.

             Sami took out her wand and looked around uneasily to make sure no one was watching before following.

             Sirius was right, it was kind of fun- the chute was steeper than she expected, and it twisted a lot. The wind whistled in her ears and made her eyes water.

             Suddenly there was a sharp drop; she screamed loudly until it flattened out and she rocketed out onto soft dirt. Scrambling up hastily and brushing dirt off her skirt, she realized she was in a damp earthy passageway with a low ceiling and just enough light to see by.

             A hand reached out and gripped her shoulder, and she screamed again.

             "Just me," Sirius said cheerfully. "Now we're even. Let's go."

             She followed him down the passage, amazed at what had been hiding behind the ugly old Whomping Willow all these years.

             She took a brave stab at conversation. "So, do you have anything planned for after you graduate besides joining the Order?"

             Sirius snorted. "My family'll probably disown me for that. Not that I'll care, but it's kind of depressing to have a family that hates you."

             She was confused. "Why would they hate you?"

             "We hate each other. And I'll take that back, they already HAVE disowned me, right after I ran away. I was so fed up with them and all their pure-blood mania, oh, it used to make me sick." He said viciously.

             He looked down at her. She looked appalled. "You belong to one of the families who believe in the pure-blood nonsense?" She asked quietly.

             "Well- yes- but I'm not like that, I think it's horrible. I ran away to James' house last summer, and haven't seen my family since. And I never will again if I can help it," he spat.

              "Good. If you were like them I certainly wouldn't be here right now- I'm muggle- born."

             "Only one in your family?"

             "No, my sister started this year. She's in Hufflepuff, though. I was really surprised when I got my letter- I'd never even heard of the school, never knew magic really existed. To muggles it's all a game, you know? It's all 'AbraKadabra' and a guy in a cape pulling a rabbit out of a hat." Sirius laughed, but it wasn't sarcastic or ridiculing. 

             "You're lucky. I'd rather be muggle-born than pure-blood with the family I have. My brother Regulus is a Slytherin, which automatically boosted his reputation in the Black family. 'That's where the Black family belongs,' according to my mother. He'll graduate next year, and I won't be surprised if he joins the Death Eaters."

             She looked up and searched his face. His expression was grim, he was slightly disgusted, she supposed, of being related to the type of people who thought Voldemort had the right idea. Then it occurred to her how much he had told her when she asked such a simple question.

             "Well, back to the original question, what types of jobs are you looking into?"

             "After I get my N.E.W.T results back I'm going to try and start Auror Training," he said swiftly. She nodded in approval; it was the answer she had been expecting. "James is too."

             "What about Remus?" 

             "I'm sure he'd like to, but-"

             Sirius stopped, startled. It was true that Moony would like to be an Auror, but of course there was no way the Ministry would hire him. "I don't think he really knows what he wants to do yet," Sirius said to fill the silence. She raised her eyebrows. "Peter wouldn't be an Auror though, he's not brave enough. Not that's he's smart enough anyway. What about you?"

             "Oh- well- at some point I'd like to come back here and teach, but right now there aren't any positions available. Until then I'll get a job in the muggle world, maybe, or Diagon Alley." She blushed slightly.

             "What subject?"

             "Care of Magical Creatures," she said promptly. "There's a lot of potential for that class. But I wouldn't mind Defense Against the Dark Arts."

             By now they had reached the door to the Shrieking Shack.

             Sirius reached out and turned the doorknob.

             "After you," he teased, and opened the door.

             She walked in. The room was entirely dark (Sirius had kept it dark to cover up all the blood, the cardboard on the windows, and chipping paint) except for a sliver of light spanning the width of an elaborate, oriental runner. The rug, which was cream colored and embroidered with sky-blue thread, was so long it ran the length of the room and into the next. Sami couldn't see anything except the runner in front of her. (a/n That was kind of hard to explain, hopefully you understood it . . .) 

             Sirius stepped in behind her and closed the door. 

             "Don't light your wand," he whispered softly. The whisper wasn't really necessary, but the mood of the room made you feel strangely small. "Just follow the runner."

             She walked along the runner to the end of the room, thankful that she was able to see the door before she crashed into it. She opened it (it creaked loudly and Sirius winced) and continued along the embroidered rug. She got the feeling that she was now in a hallway even though it was still dark outside the edge of the runner. Sirius was always just a step behind her.

             The hallway turned and rose in a spiraling staircase, the runner directly in the center of it. The stairway ended, she walked along another hallway- and saw a light glittering in a doorway to her left. As she reached the room, the runner ended abruptly.

             "Go on, this is the room," Sirius said behind her, and she walked in.

             The room was small and rectangular, but very cozy. There were no windows, but a soft glow from several candles hovering above Sami's head illuminated the walls. They were cream colored, like the rug, and near the ceiling there was a painted border- this was the same design from the rug, in the same light blue color.

             In the center of the room was a small mahogany table set for two. A long, thin white candle was hovering just above it. Sami smiled when she saw this and turned to look at Sirius.

             "A candlelit dinner?" she asked suspiciously, trying and failing to keep back a smile. He nodded.

             "Didn't think I was capable of this, did you?" he asked slyly. Her cheeks reddened slightly, but she retorted, "If I may speak my mind, I didn't think ANY man was capable of this, Black. In my life I have never been on a romantic date."

             Sirius smirked. "Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" He sat down, looking pleased with himself. She closed her mouth, which had been hanging open, and did the same.

             "So, Jackson, what would you like for dinner?" he asked politely. She gaped at him again.

             "What are you saying? Do you mean I can have anything?" she asked incredulously. 

             "Whatever you want," Sirius replied brightly, grinning at the look on Sami's face. "These are the same plates they use in the Great Hall. I arranged it with the house elves."

             "This is amazing," she said, leaning forward to order lobster from her plate without moving her gaze from Sirius. "I can't believe how much thought you put into this. But I must say, I've never seen a more original way of getting out of paying for dinner."

             He coughed; looking embarrassed, and then ordered a hamburger from his plate.

             Sami looked up from her seafood and swallowed. " Sirius Black," she said, shaking her head in mock despair, "You are positively hopeless."

****************************************************************************

             After dinner (and after the plates had cleaned themselves) Sirius led Sami up another staircase to a door that opened onto the roof. He had, after some searching, found a square, flat area of roof that was large enough to lie on- and gave a wonderful view of the night sky.

             "Oh WOW!" Sami said in delight when she saw the view. Night had fallen over the wizard town like a blanket, and thousands of stars were visible twinkling above them. The crescent moon was suspended among them, looking abnormally large. "It's so beautiful," she said happily. "I didn't know you see this many stars around here. Hey- are we in Hogsmeade?" 

             Sirius took her hand and led her over to the flat part of the roof. "Yeah," he said. "This is the Shrieking Shack."

             Hey eyes widened. "Isn't this place supposed to be haunted?" she said in alarm as Sirius took a small, portable fire in a jar out of his bag. "No- no, it's not haunted, the noises are made by . . ."

             In the blue firelight he saw a look of dawning comprehension on her face.

             "The noises are made by Remus, aren't they?"

             Sirius was startled that she had figured it out. No part of him desired to tell her the truth, but of course, lying would get him in hot water later.

             "What makes you think that?" he asked casually.

             Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, c'mon, after you've almost been bitten by a werewolf wouldn't you want to find out who it is? As careful as you guys think you are, you and James and the others talk about the whole werewolf thing in public more than you should. And some people DO notice the way Remus gets sick every month as though it's scheduled."  She sat down next to him, beside the fire.

             Sirius's shoulders slumped. "Okay, so you're right, it's Remus. Since you're going to weasel the rest of it out of me anyway, James is the stag and Peter is a rat. We decided to become animagi after we found out Remus was a werewolf so that we could keep him company during the full moon. That night we ran into you, we had left the Shrieking Shack to go explore Hogsmeade, and we weren't counting on running into someone at one in the morning."

             The look on Sami's face was a blend between awe and admiration. "I didn't think you would tell me," she said softly.

             "Yeah, well, you absolutely CAN NOT tell anyone, not even Lily. Nobody else knows except you, and that's illegal." He said warningly.

             Sami smiled at him warmly and stood up.

             "Where are you going?" Sirius said unhappily.

             "I really didn't expect you to be honest with me," she said. "Now I'm going to be honest with you. Hard as it is to believe, you and your friends are not the only animagi in Hogwarts."

             Sirius stared at her in amazement, and a second later a beautiful snowy owl was perched on his shoulder. It nuzzled his cheek and gave a loud hoot before transforming back into Sami.

             Sirius gaped at her. When he didn't say anything, she said, "I asked McGonagall to teach me. I only figured it out last year, but when Dumbledore founded the Order he asked me if I wanted to join."              

             "He was right when he said you could disguise yourself," Sirius mumbled, still in shock. "This makes me feel even worse about not joining the Order."

             "Sorry," Sami said apologetically. "Now let's play some games of Exploding Snap, and then I'll teach you some muggle card games." Sirius reached into his bag and pulled out several packets of the magical cards and said, "You're not going to have any eyebrows left by tomorrow, Jackson."

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             It was very late by the time the last deck of Exploding Snap cards had exploded. Although it was true Sirius was pretty skilled at wizard cards games, he wasn't quite as good with muggle ones, and his eyebrows were still smoking. Sami was currently smirking about that: even though her cards often exploded in wizard games, she was quick enough to get out of the way when they went off.

             Now they were lying on their backs on the blanket Sirius had brought, admiring the night sky in silence and drinking coffee that Sirius had brought in a thermos.

             "Hey," Sirius said, pointing, "It's a shooting star. Make a wish."

             A moment later he rolled over to look at her. "Well? What did you wish for?"

             She pushed him playfully. "You dolt, you know perfectly well that when you tell what you wished for it won't come true."

             "What, is that some kind of muggle superstition or something?"

             She was blushing. "Hey," he whispered, suddenly feeling very bold and leaning closer, "Is it something that I can make come true?" Her face was extremely red now. Sirius was feeling very strange; he had never felt this way with a girl before . . . he felt stronger, braver . . .

             He leaned in and kissed her.

             It was the most wonderful thing that he had ever experienced. The kiss lasted longer than he had expected, because he wanted to drink everything in: the way she smelled, like lavender, the way she tasted, like coffee, the way she felt, so warm and gentle. Even though a few moments before he had felt so strong and sure of himself, now he felt weak and shaky. It was like a dream, and with a start he realized that he was losing himself, his very soul, to Sami Jackson. He had never thought that any girl could do that to him.

             Fireworks of emotion were exploding behind Sami's closed eyelids. Happiness and bliss were radiating throughout her body to her fingertips and made her tremble. She felt addicted, as if he was the thing keeping her alive, the thing keeping her heart beating. She felt as if she was never going to be lonely again. Lord, he was amazing. She smiled against his lips.   

             At long last Sirius broke the kiss, and then it was only because he needed to breathe. They smiled at each other, then Sami leaned in again and kissed him briefly. 

             "Thanks for making my wish come true," she whispered, then leaned back in his arms.

             Sirius lay back too and looked at her. He sighed contentedly. "I am the luckiest guy on earth," he thought, and closed his eyes.

             The owl and the dog fell asleep like that, feeling as if they were the only people in the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

             My Chapters keep getting longer and longer, just like the Harry Potter books! I'd like to give credit to Morgona5 and Child of the Wolves: aren't you smart! You were right about Sami.

                                                                   ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~      


	8. The Quidditch Match

Chapter 8: The Quidditch Match

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: Does anyone even read these things?

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          Sami slept soundly with pleasant dreams that night, and was perfectly content to lie there forever curled up against Sirius's body. So she was slightly upset to find herself being shaken the next morning by a warm, familiar hand.

          "Sami! Sami? Wake up, we've got to get back before too many people start to wonder where we are."

          Sami sat up, grumbling, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Sirius was kneeling in front of her, smiling, his hand on her shoulder and the wind toying with his hair. The sun was shining fiercely above her, but nevertheless there was a crisp sting in that breeze that didn't indicate summer was approaching. The events of the night before flashed in front of her eyes. Inwardly she gave an excited shudder that had nothing to do with the cold.

          To give her something to do besides stare into his eyes she reached up and tried to smooth her thick curls. Sirius offered her his hand and pulled her up. "Ever the gentleman," Sami thought, smirking. She, like every other girl in the school, had never thought of the arrogant Sirius Black as being polite. Sami had just liked him anyway.

          "Okay, let's go, I've already got everything packed up," he said, and led her down the stairs.

          When they reached the winding staircase, Sami stopped and ran her hand along the stair rail.

          "Thinking about sliding down? Let me go first, I'll catch you at the bottom."

          She looked up and blushed. "Ah-- well-- " 

          "Oh, c'mon, it's safe; I've done it loads of times! See you later."

          Sirius jumped onto it and picked up speed, giving a loud whoop as he slid out of sight. Truthfully, he'd never slid down a stair rail in his life, but Sirius had never been one to turn his back on risk.

          Sami had never slid down a stair rail either, and was left at the top biting her tongue. Well, the stair rail LOOKED pretty solid, even though she'd always thought of the Shrieking Shack as exactly what its name described-- a shack. But what she had seen last night didn't really qualify as broken down and neglected . . .

          She shook her head and climbed into a sitting position on the stair rail before she lost her nerve and sped off.

          It wasn't very comfortable, but it was exhilarating all the same. Stairs hurried past her and the floor rose up to meet her, Sirius waiting and grinning like a child in a candy store. She flew off the end and he caught her, spinning her around in a circle and setting her down on her feet. Her hair was still swinging in her face and she was slightly dizzy; but she made a mental note to buy a house after she graduated only if it had long, steep staircases.

          The first thing both of them saw when they emerged from the Whomping Willow a half hour later (neither of them had wanted to leave until they had tried out that stair rail a few more times) was the Quiddith pitch, where several people were zooming around fifty feet in the air. Later that day the final for the Hogwarts Inter- House Quidditch Cup would take place, and most of the players on the two teams competing-- Gryffindor and Slytherin-- were already warming up. Spirits were running high, at least for the Slytherins. Gryffindor hadn't lost the Cup since James had joined the team in his second year, and most of the school was pretty confident about the outcome of the game. Still, when James Potter was playing Quidditch you were always in for an exciting match, and who didn't enjoy seeing the Slytherins lose?

          Sirius and Sami started walking back towards the castle in silence, enjoying each other's company. Finally, when he had worked up the nerve (which took him quite a long time considering how quick he had been to kiss her last night) Sirius reached out and entwined his fingers in Sami's.

          He felt her smooth fingers grip his tightly for a moment, and then they relaxed. Sami felt as if she had just stuck her hand in an electrical socket. If Sirius knew what electricity was he probably would have agreed with this description; instead he would have said that the feeling was-- right. "Like it was meant to be," he thought, and then mentally slapped himself for being such a hopeless romantic.

          They reached the Entrance Hall and prepared to part ways. Sami seemed slightly reluctant to let go of Sirius's hand.

          "We'll both change, have lunch, and then meet back here to go to the match. Okay?" Sirius asked, and Sami smiled.

          "Sounds good. Here's to a Gryffindor victory, eh? And Sirius-- thanks for everything. Yesterday was great." She gave his hand a last squeeze and walked away.

          Sirius stared after her for a moment, his hand buzzing and still in awe of her. The emotions she could invoke in him just by holding his hand . . .his only regret was that he had waited this long to get to know her. Then he turned and walked up the marble staircase.

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          On the way down to the Pitch Sirius and Sami walked together, with Lily on Sami's other side and Remus and Peter slightly behind them. Sami knew that if Lily hadn't said yes to James the night before her best friend wouldn't be walking with her, and she was glad of it. And she HAD been getting sick of Lily denying James when she was actually crazy about him.

          The weather was the same way it had been that morning: the sun a little too bright, and the wind biting and snappish. There were absolutely no clouds in the sky, which had the odd characteristic look of dull, faded denim. 

          Lily and Sirius talked animatedly about Quidditch, which teams they liked and so forth. They had a lot of catching up to do-- they had never really spoken and Lily was beginning to feel as if she had missed out on something those past years.

          Sami was mostly silent, having already heard both sides of the conversation before. Lily had heard everything about the date in the Shrieking Shack that day before lunch, with the exception of Remus being a werewolf, James and Peter being animagi as well, and Sirius's family. She had figured that since James was bound to become her boyfriend anyway, he could tell her about the animagus thing when he was ready. She had promised Sirius she wouldn't reveal the rest. Lily had not, however, been deprived of details about the kiss.

          When they reached the Quidditch pitch some of the players were still practicing; trying to get in a few extra minutes before they had to change into their colored robes. James looked down on them from a height of at least sixty feet and, seeing Lily (and probably only recognizing her from the flaming color of her hair) he ran his hand through his own hair, grinned and waved. Lily rolled her eyes but failed to keep a straight face and waved back.

          Sirius said goodbye to the others and weaved his way through hundreds of people to take his place in the stands next to Professor McGonagall. He would be commentating the match, as he had since his fourth year when the previous commentator, Joshua Bretzal, had left school.

          The remaining players left the field to change and the volume of exited conversation in the stands increased. When Sirius's watch finally ticked to 2:30, Madam Hooch, the young new fly instructor who had short, wild, light brown hair, walked out into the middle of the Quidditch field and all talking ceased. 

          The two Quidditch teams walked onto the field to an enormous amount of applause and noise.

          "And here come the Gryffindor and Slytherin House teams!" Sirius roared into the magical microphone over the cheering. "The Gryffindor team is captained by James Potter, well known as the best Seeker to come to Hogwarts in over half a century--" loud boos came from the Slytherin end-- "and who had never lost his team a single match in six years. The Slytherin team is captained by Murdock Flint, Chaser, who probably shouldn't pursue Quidditch as a career." Professor McGonagall smacked him on the back of his head.

            Sirius recovered and said, "The two captains have now shaken hands and it looks like Madam Hooch is preparing to release the Bludgers and the Snitch!"

          Madam Hooch bent down and set free the struggling black Bludgers and the miniscule Golden Snitch, which Sirius couldn't even see from this distance. 

          Finally she lifted her whistle to her lips, blew, and threw the large scarlet Quaffle into the air.

          The stadium almost exploded with the noise which burst forth as fourteen brooms (plus Madam Hooch's) rocketed upwards and began the game. Sirius launched himself into the commentary with even more enthusiasm than usual. Mostly he focused on the Chasers, although he was always watching James out of the corner of his eye and waiting for him to make his move.

          James was straddling his broom twenty feet above the rest of the game, watching the two teams battle it out. He was making almost no effort to look for the snitch, just avoiding the occasional Bludger and listening to the commentary; cheering and booing with the rest of the crowd. When Gryffindor scored he vented his energy with a couple of loops or a lap around the pitch. His face was flushed and he looked extremely confident.   

          He was perfectly entitled to feel confident. The Slytherin Seeker, some idiot named Warrick   Flaxweed that Sirius could have sworn had some troll blood in him, wasn't bothering to look for the snitch either, just watching James closely. Every Seeker did this when playing against James Potter. If James Potter saw the snitch and you were on the wrong side of the field, or even just a few yards away, you didn't have much of a chance.

          Ten minutes into the game, Gryffindor had pulled ahead by forty points: the score was fifty to ten, and the three-quarters of the crowd waving red flags and banners were screaming themselves hoarse. James was bound to get the snitch soon . . .

Finally, James scanned the pitch for a few seconds, looked up, and winked at Sirius. Sirius knew what was coming.

          James dived. The Slytherin Seeker saw him and a split second later they were both racing towards the ground, leaning as far forward as possible on their brooms, neck and neck in a fierce battle to get there first--

          Sirius grinned to himself. James had been dying to try out that Wronski Feint for AGES (it was the only thing he talked about as much as Lily Evans), but had spent all year perfecting and polishing it so he could use it against the Slytherins in the Final. Of course the crowd wasn't to know this until the last moment, so Sirius leaned forward and yelled into the microphone, "Our Seekers must have seen the snitch! Good Lord, this is close! It's not clear who's in the lead, either of them have a good chance of catching it and claiming the Cup--"

          But next instant James had pulled out of the dive and was spiraling off sideways six feet from the ground. Flaxweed realized what had happened half a second too late-- he hit the ground with a crunch and a shower of splinters rained down as the front of his broom snapped, then he bounced and flew straight into the bottom of the stands. They was another dull thud and Flaxweed shot out of the top of the stands, missing Professor Flitwick by inches. 

          Sirius mock groaned and said happily, "Well, that was a very close shave there for Warrick Flaxweed, seems to have seriously damaged the front half of his broom. Does that make the broom go faulty? Anyway, that's due to a nicely done Wronski Feint, pulled off cleanly by Potter--" but for the next few seconds he was drowned out by jeers and catcalls from the Slytherins. Sirius raised his voice and said, "It certainly achieved the desired effect, though, Flaxweed fell for it. From now on it may be a tad harder to tell if Potter has really seen the snitch, hope you've got good eyesight!"

          The first part was a lie: The desired effect was not for Flaxweed to fall for it, but for Flaxweed to fall for it and end up stuck head-first in the ground. Sirius was slightly disappointed, as he had greatly been looking forward to seeing this. 

          James was in the process of flying a victory lap around the pitch when it happened. He flew into a patch of particularly bright sunlight-- Sirius could see it glinting off his glasses-- and the next moment he was rolling and tightly clutching his broom as a Bludger hit him hard in the stomach. The second Bludger hit his jaw.

          Sirius let out a string of swear words that earned him another smack on the back of his head and a struggle to hold onto the megaphone.

          James was clutching his stomach and gasping for breath; his jaw was hanging open at a weird angle and looked like it was broken. His glasses had fallen off. When Sirius had calmed down enough to talk rationally, he said into the microphone, "That was a-- successful-- attack on the Gryffindor Seeker by the Slytherin beater Bellatrix Lestrange--" he said his cousin's name with particular venom-- "Who hit both Bludgers in quick succession. Potter seems to be having a hard time staying on top of his broom; but of course any other wouldn't be able to hold on at all." The boos from the Slytherins were expected.

          James turned around to look for the snitch, it was evident he wanted this game to be over as soon as possible. What he saw instead was something entirely unexpected: Flaxweed diving directly below him, stretching out his hand for the snitch.

          James turned the handle of his broom and shot downward with the force of a bullet. He was gaining, but there was no way James would able to see the snitch properly, he was as good as blind without his glasses.

          The crowd was screaming, every pair of eyes were following the two Seekers and straining to see the snitch, even the other players had stopped in midair to watch . . .

          Then the snitch disappeared through the hole Flaxweed had made when he crashed into the stands. 

          Both Seekers flew through the hole into darkness, and the entire crowd gasped. Even Sirius had forgotten he was supposed to be commentating-- there was a loud shout of triumph from within the stands, and both Flaxweed and James rocketed out of the top, knocking Professor Flitwick over in his haste to get out of the way. There was a moment of confusion-- had either of them got it? --but then they saw James raising his arm in victory, the snitch trapped inside his hand.

          The stadium erupted. The noise reverberated and the echo made it seem twice as loud as it really was. Students started pouring onto the field and lifted the entire Gryffindor team onto their shoulders as they landed as one on the ground. The Slytherin team landed moments later, looking angry. Flint started yelling at Flaxweed. 

          Sirius was going crazy, yelling over and over again, "Potter did it! He caught the Snitch, Gryffindor wins 210 points to 20!"      

          Finally he turned off the magical megaphone and pushed his way through the crowd onto the field, where he spotted Sami, Remus, Peter, and Lily and hurried over to them. They were all cheering. Someone had started a chant of "POTTER! POTTER!" and the rest of the school were joining in enthusiastically. Lily's face in particular shone with admiration.

          Sirius snuck up behind Sami and slipped his arm around her waist. She turned and laughed happily when she saw him. The others stopped in mid chant and turned to grin at them.

          "So, are you two officially a couple yet?" Remus asked, smirking. 

          "I guess you could say that," Sirius said, and they followed the rest of the students up to the castle.

****************************************************************************

          Late that night, when the party in the Gryffindor common room was still going strong and the snitch was still zooming around the room (James had already showed the rest of the House exactly how he had caught it many times) Sirius snuck out of the portrait down to the statue of the one- eyed witch. He knew that Sami was going to an Order of the Phoenix meeting tonight, and there was a gift he wanted to surprise her with before she left.

          A few minutes later she walked up to the statue, muttering distractedly and pulling her wand out of her pocket. She looked slightly out of breath.

          She looked up and saw him, and she grinned-- but it wasn't quite the grin he remembered. There was something different about the spark in her eyes . . . but Sirius shook it off as a trick of the light.

          When she drew close enough he leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she brushed him away. Sirius took a step back, completely bewildered.

          "Is something wrong?" he asked her, feeling hurt.

          "No. Nothing's wrong," she grunted and smiled that strange smile again.

          Sirius shrugged and pulled the gift out of his pocket. She came closer to examine it.

          "I wanted you to have this," he said softly. "I've been waiting for the right time to give it to you. I found it in a locked cabinet at home, after my father tried to confiscate it." Her eyes flashed.

          It was a small bottle, hanging on a fine silver chain. The bottle was perhaps only two inches high, and was made of clear, shimmering glass. Inside the bottle was a strange substance: it was definitely not a liquid or a solid, but it didn't really seem like a gas either. It was swirling around and twisting upon itself, it looked almost like a cloud trapped behind glass. Every few seconds it flashed a different color.

          "Do you know what this is?" Sirius asked her, and she shook her head. "Hmm. Well, do you know about the Department of Mysteries?"

          "Quite a bit about it, yes," she confirmed.

          "Well-- there's this room, see? And it's always kept locked. There's this great, incredible power shut up inside that room. Even the Unspeakables don't know very much about it. But-- in an attempt to study it-- they made five of these bottles and corked up that power, so that they could carry it around. They hoped the power wouldn't be as strong as it usually was if there was less of it in one place." She nodded, looking amazed.

          "Only one of them is left in the Department of Mysteries. They have no idea what happened to the others. They think they got smashed. Well . . .it turns out at least one of them still exists. And now I'm giving it to you."

          "Wow," she breathed huskily.

          "See the way the glass shimmers? That's not ordinary glass. That's the glass made when a bolt of lightning hits the sand. It's really rare, but it's the only thing strong enough to confine this power. And-- when these bottles were made they were perfectly round-- but I transfigured the shape of this one into an owl when I found out you were an animagus."

          She leaned even closer. It was true; the shape of the bottle was a tiny, beautifully detailed snowy owl. Sirius grinned, she was REALLY surprised.

          "I still don't entirely understand," she said.

          Sirius lowered his voice. "If you are ever in mortal danger and transforming won't help save you-- especially if you've been cornered by some of Voldemort's Death Eaters-- then just the break this bottle and release the incredible power inside it. It will protect you from everything. Just be warned: the power may protect you, as the bearer, but it will destroy everyone else around you."

          "And what IS this power?" she asked, looking up and barely an inch from his face.

          "Pure, untainted love," Sirius whispered.

          Then Sami threw back her head and let out a cold, hollow laugh. Sirius couldn't believe it. This didn't sound at all like Sami . . .

          "Pure, untainted LOVE?" she crowed, as if it were a joke. "You think I need something as weak and insignificant as LOVE to protect me? My powers, and My Lord's, are much stronger and more powerful than love!"

          "My LORD'S?" Sirius hissed in disbelief. "You don't mean what I think you mean, do you?"

          Sami raised her wand. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do this, Sirius Black. CRUCIO!"

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          Poor Padfoot! 

Did my Quidditch match bore you all? Or did you actually like it? I could have continued with the plot without the match, but I really wanted to try my hand at Quidditch. 

~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


	9. Under the Influence of the Imperius Curs...

Chapter 9: Under the Influence of the Imperius Curse

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: Now seriously, why would I write fanfiction if these characters belonged to me? 

School's starting soon. At worst, I might update once a week, possibly every ten days, but don't think I've forgotten about it.

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          Sirius fell to the floor as waves of hot pain rolled through his body. It was unbearable; it felt like he was being ripped apart, he had forgotten everything except the knives tearing him open . . . death had to be better than this . . .

          Sami lifted her wand. Everything that was happening flooded Sirius's brain as he looked up at her from his position on the floor, with his knees drawn up to his chest. All he could feel was numb disbelief; he didn't think this would ever sink in. Sami's green eyes were like chips of ice. They held none of the warmth or gentleness Sirius had seen in them that afternoon. 

          "Did a good job, didn't I?" she said nastily. "I only mastered that a short while ago, but of course it's much easier when you really loathe the person you're doing it on." 

He was still clutching the owl- shaped bottle. He had a sudden impulse to smash it that very second, to release the wrath inside it and destroy the heartless witch standing in front of him . . .but he couldn't do it. He couldn't do that to her. His feelings for Sami Jackson-- the beautiful girl who suddenly wanted to kill him-- held him back. Instead he slipped it around his neck.

He didn't know what else to do. After that he seemed incapable of moving. Oh, he tried--he even made a move towards his pocket for his wand-- but Sami was too quick and snatched it out of his hand. So instead he lay on the floor and watched his girlfriend mutter things under her breath. She seemed to be considering what to do with him.

"Okay," she muttered distractedly as she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Then she seemed to come out of her reverie. "You," she snapped at him, "will come with me. You might end up being useful."

Hatred rose uncontrollably in Sirius at that moment. 

Sirius rubbed his arm where she had gripped it. Then he drew himself up to his full height and squared his shoulders in anger, holding back a wince from the pain. He was so enraged he almost made a certain comment about her parents-- but stopped himself. He had not yet sunk as low as that.

"I am not going anywhere with you, you filthy Death Eater," he spat. Sami's lip curled.

 "Well, don't tell me I didn't give you the chance to come willingly," she said angrily. "Imperio!"

****************************************************************************

          Sirius's mind was oddly, wonderfully blank. He could still see clearly, but because the bliss in this world was so utterly complete, his vision seemed slightly misty.

          There was no pain here, no hurt. Not even any feeling, but at the moment Sirius was thankful for that. All there was here was following instructions.

          Sami had tapped the one- eyed witch with her wand and murmured "Dissendium!" although Sirius wasn't really aware of this fact. All he heard was a voice in his head, and words that didn't seem to be coming from anybody's mouth . . .

_          Slide down the hole._

Obediently, Sirius slid down the hole. 

          _Walk until you reach the trapdoor to get into Honeydukes._

          So Sirius did.

          _Now you can Apparate because you aren't on school grounds. Apparate in front of the door to the shack behind the Three Broomsticks._

Sirius disappeared and reappeared at the door to the shack.

          Sami leaned forward and murmured the password. When the doorknob appeared she seized it, stepped inside and lit the wand she was holding.

          _Follow the passage until we get to the Room of Rebellion._

          Sirius didn't think twice before setting off.

          But by the time the two of them had reached the stairs, Sirius began to question following orders.

          "Follow the passage? Nah, I don't really feel like it, thanks," he thought.

          _Follow the passage!_ The voice said forcefully. _Just follow it, you stupid git._

          "There are things I'd rather be doing at this time of night," said his thought- voice, mocking. "And I'm not a git, you know."

          _FOLLOW THE PASSAGE! _The voice screamed inside his head. _I command you!_

          Sirius was pleased to hear the note of panic in the other voice.

          Then he fell over.

          He had thrown off the curse, but not entirely-- he had walked and tried not to walk at the same time, resulting in him losing his balance.

          Sami was mad.

          "I can't believe you can throw it off!" she fumed. "The Dark Lord should have warned me . . .but still, it is I who has the wands, is it not?"

          The glee Sirius had felt at her anger evaporated when she said that. She pushed him in front of her and poked him in the back with her wand, but didn't attempt the Imperius Curse again.

          They were only halfway down the stairs, which, unfortunately, gave Sirius plenty of time to reflect on what Sami had done to him, and what she planned to do when the Order meeting started.

          He knew it had been too early in their relationship to say he was falling in love with Sami, but the truth was, he already had. He loved everything about her, especially the love he-- thought (hoped? wished?) she had felt for him. The feeling he got when he was with her-- when he KISSED her-- was so tender, so genuine, so . . .intense.

          How could he have possibly thought she loved him in return? How could he have been so stupid? He had trusted her and she had played him like a harp. The very thought of this made hot, boiling anger rise up in Sirius's stomach. Oh, she must have laughed with Lily so hard about what happened on their date . . .and then a new thought struck him-- what if Lily was a Death Eater too? 

          They had reached the end of the stairs now and were facing the brick wall. Sami squeezed ahead of him and bent down to examine the tiles of the floor. She was muttering to herself again.

          Sirius watched her without much interest. She had already found the yellow lily, but seemed to have forgotten what to do with it.

          "Right, Sirius-- come here and tell me how to get into the room."

          "You mean you don't know?" said Sirius irritably. "What, has associating with Lord Voldemort blocked your memory or something? You've been coming to these meetings for over a month. And probably feeding Dumbledore false information about him, too," he added as an afterthought.

          Sami snarled. "How dare you speak his name, you are a Gryffindor, you are unworthy--"

          "Oh yeah?" Sirius said, shaking, his temper rocketing to a dangerous level. "And yet you're a Death Eater and you won't even say it-- how'd you end up in Ravenclaw, anyway, aren't you good enough for stinking Slytherin like my cousins and my brother?"

          Sami plunged her spare hand into her robes for the wand that wasn't lit, but Sirius was faster: he dived and sunk his fist right into her stomach--

          She screamed as Sirius hit her again and again, she was kicking as hard as she could, trying to scratch him, and still frantically scrambling to reach the other wand. But this was a mistake; in the process Sirius punched her wrist and the lit wand went flying, Sirius let go of Sami to dart after the wand. He reached it after it hit the brick wall and with a jolt of relief realized it was his own-- "Nox," he whispered to it and it went out, but in that split second Sami had found the wand hidden deep in her pocket.

          "Expelliarmus!" she shrieked, and Sirius felt his wand fly out of his fingers. In the dim light he saw her reach out and catch it. Her expression was triumphant, but with grim satisfaction Sirius noted that she was sweaty and panting, her hair was mussed horribly and looked like a giant beehive, and her upper lip was swollen and bloody.

          "Since, once again, you refuse to do what I request, I will have to force you," Sami told him calmly. "Imperio!"

          Once again he was in a world without feelings.

_Tell me how to get into the Room of Rebellion, _the voice in his head commanded, and Sirius tried to resist, but with a thrill of horror he felt his own mouth open to form the words, "You just have to write your name . . ."

But next moment he had thrown off the curse again. Sami was grinning.

"Write my name, hmm?" she said sweetly. Sirius bit his lip in determination not to let anything else slip, but she had guessed.

"So, if I just write my name with my wand on this lovely tile with the yellow lily," she gestured with her wand, "Then I'll be able to get into the meeting room?" Sirius glared at her. It had just struck him how odd it really was that she hadn't remembered.

"Why do you need to ask me?" he asked, hoping he wasn't sounding too interested. "How could you possibly forget?"

"Oh, the Dark Lord recently had to perform a Memory Charm on me and I guess it just--slipped my mind," she replied carelessly. Sirius stamped his foot in frustration.

After a few more moments of what looked like further careful consideration, she bent down and wrote the words "Sami Jackson" on the tile. Sirius heard the familiar clicking noise and saw the wooden door appear on the far wall. Sami smirked at him.

"You know, I can tell you think I'm the idiot, but if you think you can take on Dumbledore and a load of Aurors by yourself than you're the fool here," Sirius said furiously.

"I don't plan to," she said, and she opened the door and pushed him down the chute.

Sirius flew out of the bottom and was thankful Sami didn't crash into his back. He breathed in the scents of orange peel and cinnamon, staring around the circular, scarlet room.

          Then he turned around to look at the huge Marauder's Map (in the hopes that some other Order members were on their way) and saw that one member had already arrived. That someone had been staring at the map; obviously they had been following the progress of Sami and Sirius down the passageway.

          Now that person had turned around, with a look of pure terror on their face that Sirius had seen only once before.

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           Yippee, I'm finally getting to the good part that I've been wanting to write for ages--can't wait for your reviews!

                                                ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


	10. Why Padfoot's Seventh Year was Painful

Chapter 10: Why Padfoot's Seventh Year was Painful

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: I only own Sami, who was recently being a very naughty original character

Thanks to my few reviewers on this Chapter: Intricate One and RnRForever-- very interesting theory, hmmm. Stevie--thanks for the really awesome reviews! Many thanks. And Cestari-- glad you found the story! Here's Chapter 10.

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          The words burst from Sirius's lips before he could stop them.

          "What the _hell_ is going on here?" he demanded hotly.

          The Sami behind him was smirking. The Sami next to the map was staring at both of them with an expression between horror and confusion.

          Neither of them answered. Sirius's eyes kept darting from one to the other, waiting for someone to confess that it had all been a joke, and that they had fooled him and wasn't it funny?

          But the Cruciatus Curse was not a joke. And it certainly wasn't funny.

          Sirius took a deep breath, but it didn't do much to calm his temper.

          "Okay, so which of you is the real Sami?" he asked.

          He expected them to be coy, to say "You have to figure it out" or for both of them to say "I'm the real Sami" or that they were twins or something like that. Instead the Sami behind him gestured toward the Sami along the opposite wall and said "She is."

          Sirius ran over to her and gripped her shoulders with both hands. 

          "What is going on?" he hissed, leaning close to her face so the other Sami wouldn't hear. Sami shook her head hopelessly and shrugged.

          Sirius threw a glance over his shoulder at the Sami clone, who had settled comfortably onto one of the scarlet couches.

          Sirius returned his gaze to his true girlfriend. "Listen, I don't understand what that woman is trying to accomplish, but she's a Death Eater. She's capable of the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse, she's done them on me, and God knows what else she can do. You have to get yourself OUT."

          Sami bit her lip. "Are you crazy? The rest of the Order doesn't get here for ten minutes. How do you expect to get away from a Death Eater?" she asked pleadingly.

          "Transform," Sirius replied instantly. "Go on, do it--fly away and get Dumbledore. Bring him back here and we can ship this Death Eater off to Azkaban."

          Her eyes were still wide, but her jaw was set with a sort of fierce determination. "What about you?"

          "Don't worry about me. I plan on getting my wand back and teaching your identical twin that NOBODY messes with Sirius Black or his girlfriend."

          Sirius looked deep in her eyes then and saw that they were shimmering slightly with tears. Then she threw her arms around him, the same way she had on the night of the last full moon. This time he held her tightly in return. "I am so lucky to have you," she said. "I'm so lucky you're not like your foul cousin over there."

          Sirius nearly jumped a foot. "What?!"

          "You didn't know?" she asked, sounding confused. "See-- look at the map-- I watched you coming. Isn't that girl your cousin?"

          Sirius looked over Sami's shoulder without letting go of her and read the label over the dots positioned in the room. Standing exactly where he was a dot read 'Sirius Black' next to a person labeled 'Sami Jackson.' Sitting on a couch behind them was Bellatrix Black. Cold fury began to pound in Sirius's ears.

          Sirius leaned back and whispered, "Listen. That excuse for a woman over there hates me with a passion; I'm the target. I don't need you getting hurt in the middle of a family feud. Leave NOW."

          Sami hesitated. "Be careful," she said desperately. "I'll bring back help."

          Sirius cocked his head and gave her a lopsided grin. "Aww, she's no match for me.  I can easily hex old Snivellus like there's no tomorrow, so what makes you think I won't be able to handle a rat like her?" 

          She chuckled weakly. "Just GO," Sirius said. "Please."

          He gave her a quick kiss and stepped away from her. Sirius could feel Bella's eyes watching him. It made the hairs rise on the back of his neck. He looked down at the floor.

          The room was dimly lit; the only source of light was from the fire in the fireplace. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the shadow on the wall: Sami transforming into an owl and flapping her wings for a moment to catch her balance, then zooming toward the opening to the chute.

          Bella, who had not yet lost the appearance of Sami, gasped. "The Dark Lord was right," she croaked in her low, throaty voice. Without seeing her Sirius felt her draw out her wand and shriek, "Impedimenta!" 

          Sirius spun on his heel and caught the frozen owl before she hit the floor. He shot a venomous look towards the couch. Bella grinned sweetly at him, but even as she smirked, Sami's smile was changing back into her own.

          Sirius wanted to kill her. But she had the wand. She had all the power, and she knew it. She was loving every minute of it.

          By now Bella had completely finished transforming back into herself. Sirius walked over and sat down on the couch opposite her. He stared into her heavily lidded eyes. The owl cradled in his arms began to stir.

          "Let her go," Sirius said, his voice calm and deadly. "She has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me."

          "Thick as you are and as much as I despise you for being an insult to the name of Black," Bella said coolly, "I'm afraid I came here tonight intending to dispose of your Mudblood sweetheart."

          Sirius stood up with a roar and started toward Bella, but Sami had transformed and grabbed the back of his robes. 

          "No!" she said angrily, "Don't bother, she's not worth it." Sirius glared at her and spat at his cousin before sitting back down next to Sami.

          "When I encountered you on the way to Hogsmeade and you tried to give me that worthless pendant, I couldn't resist the fun of cursing you," she continued in the cool voice, but the words had an icy edge to them now. Sirius's hands had balled into fists. "I had to reconsider the orders my Master had given me. In the end, I decided the only way to carry them out properly was to bring you along."

          "And what were your orders?" Sirius demanded.

          She eyed him warily, then shrugged. "To kill the Mudblood and continue coming to the Order meetings in her body with the use of Polyjuice Potion."

           Sirius's nerves flared, but now Sami had lost her temper. In a quick movement she drew out her wand and shouted loudly "Stupefy!" 

          A jet of red light shot out of the wand towards Bella, who said "Protego" almost lazily. The spell glanced off the shield and Sirius had to push Sami out of the way so that her own spell wouldn't stun her. In the confusion Bellatrix stole Sami's wand with a Summoning Charm.

          Sami straightened up and glared at her. "How dare you insult my family," she snarled. "They have done nothing to you. You think you're better just cause you grew up in a magic family? Then you need serious help."

          Sirius raised his eyebrows. He had never seen Sami lose patience like this. Then again, everything she had said was true.

          "Why did Voldemort tell you to kill Sami?" Sirius asked furiously. "Just to give you someone else to kill?"

          "And how do you know about the Order?" came from Sami.

          "Well, let's see." Bellatrix smiled gleefully. She was enjoying herself way too much. "The Dark Lord has known that there was a group of people who met regularly to fight against him for a long time now. Only recently did he discover their whereabouts-- and that they had a lovely little spy flitting around." All the color drained from Sami's face.

          "Oh yes," said Bellatrix evilly, leaning forward. "Dumbledore had a spy who could collect information, who could fly around the country and nobody would know. A spy who could deliver secret messages between Death Eaters and even to the Dark Lord himself, without arousing any suspicion."

          Sirius glanced at Sami, who was white and shaking, and then stared at his cousin in horror. 

          "Then this spy could tell Dumbledore everything she knew, and Dumbledore would know what my Master planned to do before he could do it. Why do you think there have been so few murders lately? Dumbledore got in the way."

          Bella paused to examine a speck on her fingernail.

          "And when the Dark Lord found out who this spy was, he wasn't happy at all. He couldn't let this spy stay alive. There are a couple Death Eaters positioned at Hogwarts, but none who could so cleverly disguise themselves. So I was sent to kill the spy." She pointed at Sami. "_You_."

          Sirius's arm snaked protectively around Sami's waist. "But of course," he said slowly, "Once you had lost control and cursed me, you couldn't just leave me free to walk away and tell Dumbledore what you were up to."

          "You're right. So instead I brought you here, and now I will have the pleasure of killing you both. With both of you dead, it will be very easy for people to assume you had a duel or something, wouldn't it?"

          Sirius stood up and blocked Sami from view.

          "I don't care what you do to me, but there is NO WAY I'm going to let you hurt her," he said flatly. Sami, however, poked her head out under Sirius's arm and said slightly triumphantly, "If Sirius and I are both dead, then how DO you expect to come to the Order meetings? I highly doubt Dumbledore is stupid enough to let a Slytherin join the Order of the Phoenix."

          "Ever heard of an Invisibility Cloak?" Sami's smile faltered slightly.

          "Right then," Bella said, sounding brisk. Sirius stared at her incredulously. "Best get this over with before anyone else shows up. Then I can go report to my Master, he will be pleased . . .And here's revenge for Gryffindor beating Slytherin at Quidditch." She pointed her wand at Sirius. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

          Sami screamed, Sirius felt as if he had been punched in the stomach, but on instinct he held up the owl shaped bottle around his neck. The deadly spell hit the glass and, instead of breaking it, bounced off.

          Right into the fire.

          Immediately a strong wind whistled throughout the room as the fire blazed up, roaring. Sirius was picked up and thrown across to room. He hit the wall and fell down right in front of the giant map.

          The rug had caught fire, and a wall of flame almost as tall as Sirius blocked him from reaching Sami, who was on the other side. Trapped with Bella. Without a wand.

          Sirius couldn't see the exit; the fire blocked him from that too. You couldn't Apparate or Disapparate inside the Room of Rebellion . . .the dog!  He could transform into the dog and jump over the flames! Quickly he transformed-- but the fire was much too strong, too tall. He transformed back and raked his brains. He was probably going to die, and so was Sami, it was all too much. He had to THINK. But all the while the fire was pressing closer and the wind was howling in his ears . . .

          Then it clicked. "Sami!" he yelled, running to the edge of the fire barrier. The heat made his eyes smart. It was starting to make him sweat. He tried to see her, but all he could catch was glimpses of her face and Bellatrix's. They seemed to be fighting for control of the wands. He could hear the sounds of crackling furniture over the wind.

          "Damn it, Sami! Where are you?" he called anxiously. The smoke was starting to make it hard to breathe.

          He thought he heard a faint "Sirius!" but it might just have been the wind playing tricks on him. Then his heart jumped into his throat: Sami was there; he could make out her face less than a foot away. The fire was separating them.

          "Sami, take this bottle!" he shouted, yanking it off his neck. "Break it, smash it on the floor!" She nodded, reached out . . .and then the flames surged upwards, blocking her from view.

          "_Damn_!" he said again. If he smashed it now, he would live, Bellatrix would die-- and so, of course, would Sami.

          Tears were streaming down his face from the heat. He had never felt so unbearably hot in his whole life. He stumbled back towards the giant map in hopes that maybe someone was coming. The wind was tearing at his robes. Feeding the flames.

          He had to rub his eyes hard to read the quarter-sized dots. Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a long line of dots hurrying down the passageway-- and in the lead was a dot labeled something that looked very much like _Dumbledore_ . . .

          He started to choke on the dark air he was breathing, the heat was blistering his throat, and he couldn't see his hands in front of him.

          Oh please don't let her die, please, please come . . . please save her . . .

          Then he was beyond thought, and his very mind went black.

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          Oh, I am so evil . . .Did Sami die? Or didn't Sami die? Did SIRIUS die? Well, no, that would be the ultimate sin. And why does someone always guess what's going to happen? Am I THAT obvious?? School starts tomorrow :'(  but I'll try to update as often as I can. Feedback would be appreciated!

                                                                   ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


	11. After the Fire

Chapter 11: After the Fire

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. 

Not much to say, except that I hope you like it and please review at the end.

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          Sirius woke up instantly. It was as though someone had slapped him in the face. 

          Something red was swishing around above him. With a rush he realized that the Room of Rebellion was on fire! 

          Weakly, he started crying out the last thing he remembered saying: "Sami! Sami, where are you? Please, someone has to come, she can't die--"

          Then he opened his eyes.

          He was in the hospital wing. He was wrapped in stiff blankets and white bandages covered the upper half of his body. Some kind of purple ointment seemed to be oozing out from under them. His entire body ached.

          Lily's long sheet of fiery hair was swinging over his face. It looked like she was trying to restrain James from shaking him. Remus and Peter were also there, as well as a girl Sirius didn't know who was seated on Remus' left and was gripping his hand tightly. The chairs they were sitting in surrounded Sirius's bed.

          James' eyes grew wide and Lily turned her face. "Ohmigod, Sirius!" she breathed and hugged him tightly. She must have warmed up to him extremely quickly. Sirius grunted. The pressure she was putting on his back was starting to hurt him. But he wanted to be held.

          She released him and wiped her eyes, which were starting to fill with tears. Sirius moved his gaze to James. James grinned shiftily and ran his fingers through his hair, but refused to meet Sirius's eye. Sirius could tell from the expressions on his other friends' faces that they were also feeling awkward.

          "Where's Sami?" he asked quietly, dreading the answer. The silence spiraled horribly. Sirius felt as if he was going to drown in it.

          No one wanted to look at him.

          Finally Lily answered. "Oh Sirius . . ." she said, and Sirius could tell that she was trying very hard to choke back a sob, "She . . .she didn'tmakeit." She said the last few words very quickly. 

          The silence after this was suffocating. Sirius couldn't breathe; it was harder to breathe here than it had been when the Room of Rebellion had been filled with smoke. Lily had bit her lip and turned away. James had his arms around her. Then something in Sirius's mind snapped.

          "NO!" he yelled, and he kicked off his sheets and leapt out of bed. James, Lily and the others seemed frozen in shock.

          "NO!" he repeated, looking wildly around the hospital wing. "THAT'S NOT TRUE! SHE'S HERE, SHE'S FINE, SOMEONE CAME AND SAVED HER OR SHE ESCAPED OR-- WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE SHE'S--?" He couldn't finish. He was still looking around as if he expected to see Sami sitting in one of the hospital beds, smiling at him with laughter in her eyes. But she wasn't there. Sirius was starting to attract strange looks from the other people in the hospital wing.

          "No," he said again, but more softly. His chest was heaving. Everyone around his bed was staring at the floor except Lily, who was looking at him with tears pouring down her cheeks, and James, who stood up and put his hand on Sirius's shoulder.

          "We're sorry, mate," he said helplessly. "She didn't deserve it. We know how you felt about her."

          Sirius was still panting. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. It hurt deep down every time his heart beat. He refused to cry.

          "She was a good friend," said the girl next to Remus. "I'm not the most popular person out there, but she was always friendly. It hurts, okay? She was my cousin's best friend. Lily's gonna miss her as much as you will."

          James guided Sirius back to his bed and gently helped him to lie down. Then he sat down and put his arms around Lily again.

          "When they brought you in last night and called us all down here," said Remus in a strained voice, "It was really horrible. We thought we were going to lose you too. We never realized you'd disappeared or anything, the party went on for so long. And then we found out you'd almost died . . ." He looked away.

          "When Dumbledore explained what had happened, he seemed to know we all knew about the Order." Lily said quietly. "He told us not to question you. He told us everything he knew-- that your cousin, Bellatrix, used Polyjuice Potion to pretend she was Sami and force you to come to the meeting with her, where she was supposed to kill the real Sami because she was using her Animagus form to spy on Voldemort. And that she tried to kill both of you, but somehow missed. Dumbledore thinks it's because of the bottle on your nightstand." Sirius looked over at the miniscule owl-shaped bottle. He reached out and placed it back over his head around his neck. "We've been sitting here since the crack of dawn praying you'd wake up. Madam Promfrey told us you'd be alright, but . . .we thought we were going to lose you too."

          There was another long period of complete silence after this. 

"Never forget her, Padfoot," said James finally, "but at some point you're going to have to let her go."

****************************************************************************       

          Lily, James, Remus and the others didn't leave his side for the rest of the day except when Professor Dumbledore came in to see him. He sat down in one of the empty chairs next to Sirius and gazed at with his clear blue eyes, but Sirius didn't return the gaze. Instead he leaned back into his pillow, crossed his arms, and examined the pattern on his pajama bottoms. Neither of them said anything for a while. Sirius ended up speaking first.

"If you knew where I was and what Bellatrix was doing, why didn't you come and stop her?"

Dumbledore sighed. "The only thing I knew for sure was that Lord Voldemort suspected that I might have a spy that was stealing information for me right under his nose. I warned Sami to be careful about how often she used her Animagus form, to fade into the background a little more and be more discreet. But I fear that she was slightly more reckless than she should have been." He looked out the window for a moment. "Being an Animagus is something you have to work hard for, and once you have accomplished the transformation you shouldn't abuse it. You have to be careful. Sami learned that the hard way." Sirius closed his eyes tightly. Did Dumbledore know? He found he didn't care very much anymore. None of that seemed important.

Sirius looked up and met Professor Dumbleore's eyes.

"So . . .what did you find when you got to the meeting?"

"The flames were not very powerful; they were dying out-- perhaps from lack of oxygen left in the room. You were unconscious. The smoke was still heavy, though. With the help of the rest of the Order we were able to fan most of it away up the chute. I had Hagrid bring you here immediately and call the people you are closest to down to the hospital wing. Lily and her cousin insisted on coming with James and Remus. I stayed behind to inspect the damage. The map was still intact. The flames had stopped just short of you, but the heat gave you moderate burns on your chest and arms. I saw Bellatrix running off the grounds. Mad-Eye Moody went to try and catch her, but had no luck. He had been assigned to her capture and arrest by the Ministry of Magic."

Sirius felt a savage rush of hatred towards his cousin.

"She was enjoying herself," he spat bitterly. "My family is so obsessed with the pure-blood trash, they think you've got the wrong idea and I can't _stand_ it anymore! Just because Sami was muggle-born Bella thought she was better? Well, Sami was a better witch than she'll ever be, the filthy Death-Eater. . .Hey, wait a minute! Bella said there are other Death Eaters here!"

Professor Dumbledore rubbed his forehead with his palm. "The Order is currently working on that problem. There are suspects, of course, but we don't have any solid evidence. If we find any, we will take certain measures to-- er-- expel and possibly arrest students. Alastor suspects the Dark Lord marks his followers in some way."

"Why don't you just chuck all the Slytherins out, that should take care of the problem," Sirius growled.

"You know I can't do that," Dumbledore replied gently. Sirius pounded his pillow with his fists.

"Madam Promfrey wishes you to remain here for a week or so, until your burns have healed. That will still give you time to study for your N.E.W.T.s, if you wish to do so." His eyes twinkled behind his glasses. He stood up and turned to go. 

"What about Sami? Will there be a funeral or anything?" Sirius blurted. 

"She-- her body was never found," Dumbledore said slowly. "I will inform the school what happened and tell them not to question you, but I won't say anything about the Order. I'm very sorry about all this. Sami did know what she was getting into when she joined though, I made sure of that. This is why the Order is so important."

He walked to the end of the ward and paused with his hand on the doorknob. 

"Do you think you will still join the Order after you graduate?" he asked carefully.

"Of course," said Sirius coldly. "I won't rest until my cousin is sorry for what she's done."

Then he opened his eyes and found himself in his bedroom, with Buckbeak clicking his beak in the corner.

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Reviews, please. Kind of depressing, but it had to be written. . .

                                      ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


	12. Back to the Present

Chapter 12: Back to the Present

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: In this Chapter, absolutely nothing belongs to me. 

Thanks to IntricateOne, MarauderGurl, and shadows13 for their reviews.

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          Sirius stared at his depressing ceiling as gloom began to settle over his heart.

                   His seventh year . . .it should have been the greatest year of his life. Taking N.E.W.T classes, being the oldest in the school, knowing that even though it was his last year at Hogwarts he could finally go out, get a job, and escape his family's reputation.

                   It _had _been great, too, and when he finally started going out with Sami, absolutely everything had been perfect. Until his cousin-- his disgusting, ugly, wicked _Death Eater_ cousin-- had interfered and ruined it all. 

                   Sirius had never been able to let Sami Jackson go. 

                   And yet, he had forced himself not to think about her for almost 4 years now. Her memory hadn't haunted him since he had escaped from Azkaban. Now the pain and guilt had come back. All because of a stupid dream.

He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow, blinking back unshed tears that he would never let fall. He was trembling slightly out of grief. How could he have loved someone so deeply that he had known only for a few short weeks? But he could answer that: from the 1st time he kissed her he had known they were made for each other. He had been looking forward to so much with her and a "noble Black" had snatched it away. He would always blame himself. He should have been able to protect her.

Finally Sirius rolled out of bed and opened the shades to his window. Sunlight streamed in, brightening the dingy room. Sirius gave it a nasty look. 

He walked over to his dresser and yanked open a drawer. He fumbled around for a moment before pulling out a fine silver chain with a certain owl-shaped bottle hanging off the end of it.

He bowed to Buckbeak and sat down next to him, stroking him with one hand and holding the pendant in the other. He hadn't looked at the necklace at all since he had come back to live at Grimmauld Place.          

He ran his thumb over it, his heart thudding painfully against his rib cage. He wondered where she was now, what she was thinking and if she remembered him. Where did people go after they die? And why didn't Sami come as a ghost? Sirius had often wondered if she had come back. But if she had joined the Order, she must've thought it was worth dieing for. This was an attitude Sirius shared.

He had, of course, joined the Order after he graduated, along with James, Lily, Remus, and Peter-- the traitor who had betrayed them all and was the person responsible for Voldemort's return. Sirius wanted to kill him as badly as he did Bellatrix Lestrange, but Harry had stopped him.

"Oh, Buckbeak," said Sirius miserably, "Everything seems to happen to us, doesn't it? We're both outcasts, both wanted by the Ministry of Magic; at least we both were at some point. And both of us innocent. I don't know what else happened in your past, but . . ."

Buckbeak rolled his yellow eyes in reply.

Just then Tonks strode into the room with an enormous scowl on her face.

"Oh, good, you're finally awake, we _were_ starting to wonder, you know. It's almost noon."

She put her hands on her hips. The grimace on her face looked slightly painful. 

"Listen, I was talking to Lupin and he started telling me about how well he could perform Scowling Jinxes and I told him to prove it, turns out he's pretty good at them, and anyway I was wondering if you knew the countercurse because I've already tried changing the shape of my mouth and it didn't work, and Lupin was laughing too hard to tell me what--"

She took one look at his face and said, "What's up? Did he do one on you too?"

In spite of himself, Sirius smiled grimly. "Nah," he said gloomily, "I was just . . .thinking about some things . . ."

"Good for you," she said sarcastically, still wearing an almost comical frown. "Now, do you think you could . . .?"

"Oh, sure," answered Sirius vaguely. He waved his wand and muttered the spell. Then he returned his gaze to the pendant clasped between his fingers. Tonks' face relaxed, but now she looked concerned.

"Really, what's up?" she asked quizzically, sitting down on the other side of Buckbeak.

Sirius didn't look at her. "Ahh, well, nothing important. Just what happened while I was at Hogwarts."

Tonks, unfortunately, wasn't the type to give up easily. She was also looking at the necklace now. "C'mon, you can tell me. I know I'm dead clumsy, but I _can_ keep a secret."

Sirius looked up and searched her face for a moment. He had become very fond of Tonks over the past few months. Not in the romantic way, of course, it was Remus who had, _ahem_, affectionate feelings for her. Sirius thought of her more as a younger sister. He decided she was a person he could confide in.

"You know, Remus starts showing off all the useless spells he knows when he really likes someone." Tonks let out a sound between a snort and a laugh.

"I'll remember that when I'm alone with him in a room next time. But what happened? Did some ditzy girl break your heart?"

"Something like that, but without the ditz part," said Sirius, and plunged into the story.

An hour later, the two sat again in silence as Tonks absorbed what Sirius had said.

Sirius felt empty inside after telling her. But empty was good. It meant the pain was gone, for now.

"So . . .do you reckon it's some kind of omen, you suddenly dreaming about it?"

"What sort of omen?" asked Sirius grumpily, having always despised Divination.

"I dunno, maybe . . .say . . .like maybe you're dreaming about it because you're finally going to have the chance to get revenge on your cousin for murdering Sami!" Sirius raised one eyebrow at her.

"Oh, I dunno. Just trying to figure out why you suddenly dreamed about your seventh year in perfect detail. Since when does anybody ever have a dream about their past in _perfect_ detail? It's really kind of strange," she said sheepishly.  
          "Yeah, I guess so," said Sirius quietly, leaning back into Buckbeak's wing.

A moment later, the floor shook as if caught in a sudden earthquake. Remus's voice boomed magically throughout the house, announcing, "Lunch!"

****************************************************************************

          Sirius Apparated downstairs because he didn't feel much like walking at the moment. He took a seat between Lupin and Moody and pulled a bowl of mushroom soup towards him.

          To avoid having to talk to anybody he began shoveling food into his mouth. Kingsley, Lupin, and Moody were all talking about stuff for the Order, but Tonks was being uncharacteristically quiet. Nobody had ever noticed Sirius when he was silent, so it wasn't much of a problem for him. He tuned out the conversation and turned to the task of chewing his food without knowing what he was eating.  

          He finished rather quickly and leaned back in his chair. Lupin looked up from his plate of vegetable stew and stared at him.

          "What's up, Padfoot?" Sirius sighed. He wasn't in the mood to tell everyone in the Order what was up just because they noticed he was more withdrawn than usual.

          "I was just thinking about what-- what happened in 7th year."

          There was a pause and Remus looked at him thoughtfully. "Tragedy, that was. But it sure woke us all up, didn't it? There we were, about to graduate and go out and face the world, and we didn't know a thing about what it was really like. We didn't realize that there were people-- well, they don't really deserve to be called people-- who only wanted to destroy and kill and tear apart families."

          Sirius snorted. "You bet we didn't know. We thought no one could outsmart us. And look at us now, look what Voldemort did to us: only two Marauders left, and neither of us can show our face in public."

          "You've been running from your past, Sirius," Remus said quietly. "You've the bravest person I know, but you've got to be brave enough to turn around and look it in the eye. That's the only way you can move on."

          Just then, a horrible screech filled the room. Everyone clamped their hands to their ears; the scream sent shivers up your spine the way it did when someone scratched their nails on a blackboard. It was coming from upstairs.

          "Oh my G-- it's Buckbeak!" gasped Tonks.

****************************************************************************

That night, Sirius sat upstairs in his room trying to help the hippogriff. After they had all rushed upstairs, they had found him tearing apart the room. Tonks had gotten fed up very quickly and performed a Silencing Charm to make him shut up.

It turned out he had broken his wing. Sirius how no clue how it had happened, as Buckbeak had always been fairly good-tempered and rarely did anything stupid, but he did know that he was stuck up here for the rest of the night if he didn't want his room getting torn apart by Buckbeak in his agony.

He had already had to bribe the hippogriff to take three different potions, none of which, judging by the reactions Buckbeak gave him, tasted very good. Sirius's temper was rising and his arms were covered in scratches.

Buckbeak's wing was in a sling. He was busy eating the leftover chicken bones from that night's dinner, which Sirius had eaten upstairs. 

"So, Buckbeak, what could you possibly have been doing that could have made you break your wing?"

The hippogriff gave him a withering look. Sirius shrugged and opened an Exploding Snap pack. Maybe he could teach Buckbeak how to play cards.

There was a bang like a gunshot and the door flew open. Buckbeak shrieked. Sirius's head snapped upwards.

It was Moody, and he had the look on his face he always wore when he thought he had discovered a plot to murder him. His blue eye was rolling in its socket and the gashes on his face stood out almost eerily. 

"Sirius, it's happened," he growled. "Voldemort's lured Harry to the Department of Mysteries!"

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Hey, we're back in the good old 5th book. I get to twist the ending a little ;D

                                                                   ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


	13. Padfoot and Snivellus

Chapter 13: Padfoot and Snivellus

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: If you really care, go read a disclaimer from some other Chapter.

Woa. Chapter 13. Isn't that supposed to be unlucky? Does it mean no one will read this Chapter? Or that no one will review? Or that everyone will review, but I'll only get flames? Or will it . . .Ok, I'll stop now. Sorry about that.

          I'm really getting towards the end of the story here. My ultimate goal is to get 100 reviews on this story by the time it's finished-- but of course, that is up to you, the reader, and not to me. I hope you like the next Chapter in my beloved Sirius's life. (Yes, that's right, he's _mine!_)

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          Sirius sprang up furiously. 

          "I _knew_ this would happen," he yelled at Moody, whose mouth sagged. 

          "Don't act like it's my fault, Black," he said warningly. "Just come downstairs. Snape wants to talk to all of us."

          "_Snape_ is here?!" And in a rage, he Disapparated with a small _pop_. Moody shook his head in disbelief.

          "Innocent mass-murderers never fail to surprise me," he muttered and turned heavily on his wooden leg to descend the stairs.

          Sirius materialized in the kitchen, smack in the middle of a group consisting of Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, and Snape. They were all talking in hushed, urgent voices. They also showed no signs of surprise when Sirius appeared between them.

          "Where's Harry?" he snarled, stabbing a finger in Snape's chest.

          Snape surveyed him coolly. "As I was explaining a moment before, Umbridge was holding 

Potter, Granger, the two Weasleys, and Longbottom captive in her office."

          The others all looked at Sirius apprehensively. Snape's gaze was fixed on Sirius's face. Sirius said in a voice of forced calm that clearly showed he thought it was entirely Snape's fault, "Go on."

          "She wanted me to give her a new supply of Veritaserum to interrogate Potter. She had asked me once before, but obviously never realized the potion I gave her was fake. The idiot used the entire thing in one go. She thinks she knows more about the potion then I do. Just because she works at the Ministry." He gave a hollow laugh. 

          "She asked you for a supply of Veritaserum to interrogate my godson?"

          "Yes. Presumably to get him to tell her where you're hiding. It was really a waste of her time--"

          "How dare she lay a hand on Harry!" Sirius exploded. "I am _not_ going to let her get away with that, it's against the law--"

          "I think you'll find, Black," Snape said quietly, and his eyes flashed, "That there is absolutely nothing you can do about it." Sirius crossed his arms across his chest. He was breathing hard through his nose.

          "As I was saying," Snape continued, "I told her she had used the last of my stock. She became angry and put me on probation-- _not_ that it makes any difference anyway-- and as I turned to leave Potter yelled at me. He sounded desperate."

          "What did he say?" Sirius asked quietly. 

          "That 'they've got Padfoot at the place that it's hidden.' He meant that the Death Eaters had taken you to the Department of Mysteries. He's been seeing the place in his dreams--he knows the weapon's there. But he doesn't know it's the prophecy. I left the office immediately to check that you were here safely. Tonks answered." Sirius turned to look at Tonks, who nodded.

          "Well, you were here, so I told him," she said meekly. "I didn't know it was important."

          "Then I learned that Granger had told Umbridge some cock-and-bull story to lure her into the forest," said Snape. "She took Potter with her. They still haven't come back. And because your _godson_ fancies himself the valiant little hero, I think all of you should go to the Department of Mysteries to make sure he hasn't gone to rescue someone who isn't there, as the Dark Lord obviously intended him to do."

          Sirius had transformed into the bear-like black dog and was already preparing to Disapparate when Snape spoke again. "Except you, Black." 

          The dog turned around and walked right up to Snape, growling so loudly he woke up his mother's portrait. Screams of "_BEASTS! PIGS! CREATURES OF DIRT!" _ were heard from upstairs and everyone ran off to shut her up, leaving Sirius and Snape alone. 

          "You are to stay here and tell Dumbledore what has happened," said Snape, and Sirius heard him clearly even though he had not raised his voice.

          The dog stood on his hind legs and barked in Snape's face before realizing Snape couldn't understand him (which was just as well, seeing as Snape wouldn't have appreciated many of the colorful words coming out of Sirius's mouth) then transformed back into a man and bellowed, "I will not stay here while Harry is in danger of being killed!" 

          Something in Snape's eyes was glinting in the dim light. Both he and Sirius had drawn themselves up to their tallest height, daring the other to back down. Sirius was taller by almost half a foot. Snape didn't step back. 

          "Dumbledore doesn't want you leaving headquarters," said Snape, and his voice was taunting. Suddenly it was if they were both back at school-- young boys who wanted nothing more than to curse the other into oblivion. Snape's lip curled. "You might get hurt."

          Sirius was trembling, but the room wasn't cold. 

          "And what do you," he said, "Plan to do while I'm sitting around waiting for Dumbledore to arrive from wherever it is he's been hiding out?"

          "I will be searching the forest." Snape replied smoothly. His hand was resting casually over the pocket his wand was in. "It is quite possible that Potter is too stupid to know that thestrals are very good at navigating to the location the rider wishes to fly to."

          It was causing Sirius every ounce of willpower he had not to attack Snape. Somewhere above them Sirius's mother had stopped screaming.

          "None of this would have happened if you hadn't stopped giving Harry Occlumency lessons," Sirius said stiffly, but Snape heard the words quiver with rage. He smirked. 

          "Stay at home like a good little boy," he said mockingly, and before Sirius had pulled out his wand he had disappeared.

****************************************************************************

          Sirius bounded up the stairs three at a time, his wand still in his hand. He had given Kreacher, who had been tending the fire in the corner, the task of telling Dumbledore what had happened. Luckily he had remembered to forbid him to give the information to anyone else. Now Sirius was running flat out. He had to catch the others before they left for the Ministry. 

          Finally he pulled open the door and found them huddling in a circle, all touching an umbrella from the umbrella stand. He didn't have to guess what it was. 

          "_Wait!_" he yelled in a strangled voice. They all looked up. He hurried over to them. 

          "What are you doing?" Tonks asked. "I thought Snape told you to wait for Dumbledore."

          "Don't be stupid, I'm coming!" snapped Sirius. Tonks narrowed her eyes but didn't reply.

          "Are you sure you should come, Padfoot?" Remus asked. He sounded worried. "You're still internationally known as guilty man."

          "I think you've known me long enough to answer that yourself, Moony." Remus nodded and looked away.

          "Okay," Kingsley said in his deep voice. "On the count of three, then? One-- two--three--"

          There was a bright flash of light, and they were gone.

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Sort of short, but at least I finally updated, right? And sorry for those of you who know it takes "authority" (in the humble words of Fudge and Umbridge) to authorize a Portkey, I figured I couldn't make it as dramatic if they were just all going to Apparate.

And now I'm actually gonna reply to my reviewers!

death2roy: Hey, your story isn't lame! I thought it was really sweet. And I'm sorry for reminding you of Sirius (he was my fave character as well) but him dying is actually _why_ I wrote the story. You'll have to stick around to see how it ends ;D~

Mowgui: Wow, have you been following this from the beginning? Anyway, thanks, I'm glad you like the story! Sorry I haven't been updating as much as usual. As much as I hate to say it and as much as I know you're not going to believe it, I've been really busy with school. Your review kind of woke me up. Thanks~

BlackLupin: Hello. We're pretty well acquainted through this site, aren't we? I'm glad you like my Sirius fic, since I've been following yours. *Evil grin* if you're nice maybe I'll do you a favor and actually kill ol' Voldie off (haha).  Remember to keep updating I Can See You~

legolasgurl247: Hi purbs! I'm glad you like the story (it must have been good if you read all 12 chapters like that lol) especially since you came into it so late. Hurry up and post your fic, I want to be the first reviewer! ~

MarianofSherwoodForest: Hola emmy! Glad you liked it. Are you still gonna write your Robin Hood fic? And congrats on finally getting your braces off!~

Intricate One: Well, I'm glad I surprised my faithful readers! Thanks for staying with me throughout the story; it's been very encouraging. Please update your story, you said you would soon (with a cherry on top?) ~

shadows13: Thanks! Hope you like the Chapter ~

MarauderGurl: hey I like the start of your fic! Keep going! And you'll have to wait and see if I let my beloved Siri die ~

The next Chapter will be the climax of the story! So keep an eye out for it!

                                                 ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


	14. Never Let Go

Chapter 14: Never Let Go

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: Yes, I own everything. And even though I'm richer than the Queen of England, I decided to play around with my own characters on this site. (If you really believe that, I pity you.)

Jinkies, this Chapter was hard to write. Not 'cause this Chapter was _sad_ or anything, of _course_, I just was having trouble wording it so it didn't sound stupid. I hope it doesn't still sound stupid, since I've already rewritten it three or four times. Remember to review at the end please! 

And just to warn you, some of the text in this Chapter comes straight out of the 5th book. Figured I might as well stick to the solid facts ^_^

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          With another bright flash of light that no one was there to see, the Order of the Phoenix members arrived at the Ministry of Magic. The Atrium was dark and silent-- kind of creepy, really. The umbrella fell to the floor with a clatter and everyone tore down the hall towards the elevators.

          Sirius got there first and jabbed the down button hard with his thumb. The rest stopped behind him, slightly out of breath. Next moment a lift had clattered into view. The golden grilles sprang open with an ominous clanking sound. 

          Sirius jumped in front of the buttons and hesitated, having never been to the Ministry of Magic before. Tonks reached around him and pressed the one labeled 9. The gates slammed shut and the lift began its descent, rumbling and echoing. Sirius bit his lip impatiently. 

          Kingsley, who was standing next to him, looked up at the ceiling. "It's so strange not to see any of those flying purple memos hovering around up there," he said, bemused. Nobody answered him.

          The lift was taking forever and Sirius cursed the slowness, earning him several annoyed looks. He gritted his teeth angrily and stuffed his hands into his pockets, resisting the urge to scream. 

          _"Hurry up,"_ he thought in frustration. He wasn't sure if he said it out loud or not. 

          A moment later he had wrenched his hands out of his robes and started pounding on the buttons on the wall. "Sirius!"

          Everyone started yelled in varying degrees of exasperation and shock. Sirius felt a firm hand grab his wrist and jerked around to growl at Remus, "Well, I can't stand it, why can't it just hurry up! Voldemort could have Harry--"

          But just then the lift shuddered to a complete stop. Everyone looked around nervously. 

          "Oh, now you've done it!" Tonks wailed in distress. "How are we supposed to get to the Department of Mysteries in a broken lift? These things have spells on them, you know!"

          Sirius was about to retaliate, but just then a mechanical female voice sounded throughout the lift. "Please wait while a Ministry of Magic member arrives to sort out the problem with your stalled lift. This may take a few moments. We apologize for the inconvenience."

          "Perfect," growled Moody sarcastically. "This one should be really easy to explain away. Why on _earth_ would an accused murderer, a werewolf, and three Aurors be in a lift descending to the 9th floor at 2 a.m.?"

          "Are there Apparating spells on the lifts?" Remus asked, sounding calmer than the rest of them put together. "Couldn't we just Apparate downstairs?" 

          "Nah, the only place you can do that in the entire building is the Atrium," said Tonks gloomily. "And trust me, the place is going to be swarming with Ministry officials when they find out someone's tried to break in. The Minister will come himself, even." 

          "Git," said Sirius under his breath, but everyone heard him.

          Remus looked thoughtfully at Tonks and then turned to face the jammed buttons, pulling something small out of his pocket. There was a small jangling sound.

          "Well . . .there's always the story that Moody, Tonks and I all stayed late to do some more work when we heard Sirius braking in, and chased him into a lift, and then there was this big fight and somebody hit the buttons in the confusion and the lift stalled," said Kingsley. Sirius stared at him; it was the longest sentence he had ever heard him say. "What? We've had that story ready for a long time now. Just in case, you know. You could just break out of Azkaban again and . . ."

          Sirius shook his head in disgust. "We don't have time for that! Voldemort wants to kill Harry _now_, not next week!"

          "Well, yeah, obviously he's still gonna want to kill him next week, because we won't let him kill Harry tonight," Tonks said reasonably.

          "TONKS, _we're stuck in a stalled lift!_ How can we save Harry like _this?_" Sirius yelled.

          "Well, I'm just trying to be optimistic. You don't _want_ Harry to die, do you?" said Tonks indignantly.

          "Would you all shut up?" Moody growled. "You're giving me a headache."

          "Aha! Got it!" said Lupin triumphantly.

          There was a series of clicking sounds, the floor shuddered, and the lift started moving again.

          Everyone gaped at Lupin.

          "There's a lot to learn from Fred and George," he said, a smirk playing on his lips. He held up a hairpin. "Muggle tricks take awhile to learn, but it's worth it." Tonks let out a whoop, but Sirius's throat was too dry to speak.

          "Department of Mysteries," the female voice said smoothly, and the grilles slid open again.

          With Sirius in the lead, the group tore down the deserted hallway in single file, not having the slightest clue where they were going. Torches flickered in brackets on the wall as they all rushed past.  

          Sirius stopped short just in front of a plain black door, but Lupin, who wasn't expecting it, plowed into him and sent him flying forward. Sirius waited for the crash, but the door swung open on its own . . .

          Everyone was piled on top of each other on the floor: Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, and Kingsley, respectively. Moody hobbled in a few seconds later. Both of his eyes focused on the sight in front of him, amusement twinkling in the small, beady one. 

          "Oh, I feel like we're in an American football match," Tonks groaned, as she hoisted herself off Lupin and arched her back.

          "A _what?_"

          "Muggle sport," Tonks answered and wrinkled her nose. "Disturbing thing to watch, let me tell you."

          "Well, _I_ feel like a pancake," said Kingsley. Sirius saw Moody's blue eye roll in exasperation over Kingsley's head.

          "Tell you what, after this is over and we're all safe and happy, I'll make you some back at Grimmauld Place for breakfast," Lupin said. "But not before we all get some sleep." He yawned.

          "That's just _great,_ but IT'S NOT WHY WE'RE HERE!" roared Sirius. "Do you mind? We're on a RESCUE MISSION, YOU KNOW!" Everyone cringed guiltily.

          Moody's eye was revolving crazily in its socket. Standing up, Sirius saw they were in a circular room with identical doors covering all the walls. 

          "Can you see anything?" he asked the old Auror anxiously.

          "No," Moody replied, his large eye still darting in all directions and starting to make Sirius feel nauseous. "Three of them must have some sort of spell on them, 'cause I can't see through. And all the others are empty."

          "Let's start with the first three, then," said Sirius. "Lead the way." 

          Moody walked up to one of the doors, which, to the rest of them, looked no different than the others. But Harry could be right inside it.

          Sirius and the others huddled around Moody as he stopped about a foot away from the door, expecting it to open of its own accord. When it became apparent that the door had no desire to open willingly, Moody reached out his gnarled hands and gripped the cracks around the doorframe. He pulled, but it wouldn't budge.

          Everyone had pulled their wands out expectantly a moment before, and now Kingsley waved his in a complicated jiggle that strongly reminded Sirius of Hermione. Sirius's breath caught in his chest-- Ron and Hermione were sure to be with Harry. _Why_ wouldn't the stupid door open? Why were inanimate objects being so _stubborn_ tonight?

          Then realization hit him.

          "Leave the door," he said suddenly. Moody, Kingsley, Lupin and Tonks all looked at him curiously. "I'm serious." Tonks snickered at that one.

          "Really!" he said, beginning to lose his temper. "Unless you all want to die this very moment, leave the door alone. I know what's in there." Everyone looked alarmed and took a step back.

Sirius felt his breathing start to return to normal. "That's better. Now, let's spilt up for the other doors. Lupin, you come with me, and the rest of you stay with Moody." 

          Lupin moved next to his friend. "Which door, Mad-Eye?" 

          Moody gestured towards one 4 doors away. Sirius and Lupin strode over to it. Sirius took a deep breath and wrenched it open.

           At first Sirius couldn't see anything, but the room was glittering.

          "What the--"

          Sirius could only gape, speechless, as he watched a full-grown man with a baby's head amble around the room. It was bawling loudly.

          Remus stopped short behind him. "Wow, that's something I _really_ didn't need to see." Sirius didn't answer-- his eyes were glued to a large dome in the middle of the room. A little bird had just hatched from an egg inside it.

          Remus shook Sirius's shoulder roughly. "Earth to Padfoot. Rescue mission, remember?"

          "Oh. Right."

          Off to the right, Sirius could make out a door. "C'mon," he said quietly. They walked over to it. Sirius leaned his head in close to the wood to see if he could hear anything.

          Muffled yells-- and strangled cries that were obviously curses-- were coming from behind the door.

          "Merlin, this is it!" Sirius hissed excitedly. "There must be at least a dozen Death Eaters!" He yanked hard on the doorknob, but it was locked. 

          "Oh, why _now?"_ he moaned, struggling with the door and his mind completely free of thoughts such as 'maybe they charmed the door to stop the Death Eaters from coming in.'

          In the next room, everything had gone deadly quiet. Then Sirius heard an agonized scream. 

          "Move over," Remus mumbled impatiently. "_Alohomora_!" 

          The door swung open and Sirius and Lupin charged into the room; out of the corner of his eye Sirius saw Tonks, Moody and Kingsley burst in from the door next to him. Looking down, he saw Harry cornered by Death Eaters on a raised platform in the middle of the room, which was sunk some twenty feet into the floor. A large, black curtain was behind his godson. "_He has the prophecy_," thought Sirius, seeing it in Harry's outstretched hand. Immediately he started jumping downwards, shouting every curse he knew at the top of his lungs.

          It only took a few seconds for the Death Eaters to get over the shock, but it worked: Harry had gotten out of the way and was now crouching in a corner with a small lump of a boy Sirius didn't recognize. The prophecy was out of sight.

          Sirius started dueling with someone in a mask, trying to get in a Stunning Spell, but it wasn't working. All he was able to do was play defensive and stop the rain of Unforgivable Curses raining down on him. Finally he saw the man stumble, and seeing his chance, pushed him as hard as he could. The man crashed down a huge flight of steps and lay in a crumpled heap at the bottom.

          Triumphant, Sirius turned, only to see a Death Eater bearing down on Harry.

          "Oh no you don't," he panted, and rammed him hard in the shoulder just as the Death Eater tried to use a Summoning Charm.

          They started dueling, and Sirius recognized the man from an article in the Daily Prophet-- Dolohov. As his wand flashed through the air like a sword, Sirius started grinning-- this was great, this was exactly what he been wanting to do ever since he'd first been condemned to living in Grimmauld Place. _This_ was what it meant to be in the Order of the Phoenix. Those hate- inspired duels with ol' Snivellus were finally paying off.

          Dolohov drew back his wand, but Sirius heard someone bellow "_Petrificus Totalus!" _and the Death Eater keeled over, stiff as a board. Looking around, he saw that it was Harry (and realized the boy with him was Neville Longbottom), and his smile widened.

          "Nice one!" shouted Sirius, forcing Harry's head down as a pair of Stunning Spells flew toward them. "Now I want you to get out of--"

          But a second later he had to duck as a jet of green light shot towards him. It missed him by mere inches. Across the room Sirius saw Tonks fall from halfway up the stone steps, her limp form toppling from stone seat to stone seat, and Bellatrix, triumphant, running back toward the fray.

          "Harry, take the prophecy, grab Neville, and run!" Sirius yelled, dashing to meet Bellatrix. 

          Her face turned towards him, and she pushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes, and in a second that contained an eternity . . .Sirius's entire seventh year flashed in front of his eyes, the same way it had when he had first awoken from the dream. There was Sami, laughing . . .Sami, smiling in his arms after their first kiss . . .Sami, reaching through the flames to grasp his hand--

          With a roar, he sprung at Bellatrix; wanting only to rip her heart out of her chest, make her pay for what she had done to his girlfriend. But would that satisfy him . . .? He didn't know. But he wanted revenge, and badly.

          The two cousins circled each other, their wands pointing at each other's throats. Bellatrix was smirking. As usual. Sirius sent an Impediment Jinx at her, which she sidestepped easily.

          "Well, cousin, it seems it's time to play another deadly game of cat and mouse," Bellatrix taunted softly. "And the cat never loses when it's hungry . . ."

          "Last time the mouse got away, and has been waiting for years to kill the cat!" shouted Sirius furiously. He was completely oblivious to the curses criss-crossing over his head.

          "Ah, the mouse wants _revenge_?" cooed Bellatrix in her mock-baby voice, one of the things Sirius has always most despised about her. "Because _one _of the mice _didn't_ get away last time, did it?"

          Sirius's wrath erupted, curses exploding from his mouth so quickly that Bellatrix had to dive out of the way; as Sirius paused for breath she scrambled to her feet and backed onto the dais with the black curtain. Her lip was bleeding, and she was mad.

          "I killed her and she deserved it, the filthy little Mudblood!" she shrieked, obviously trying to send Sirius into a rage.

          He shook his head angrily and took a step forward to join her on the dais. "All these years, and that's the best you can come up with?" he mocked, trying to sound incredulous. "You really need to work on your vocabulary, I think you've used that name before."

          Her hand shook, and she shouted "_Stupefy_!" 

Sirius ducked. The red jet of light shot over his head and crashed into a stone bench, which exploded. And if he hadn't been so absorbed in the duel, he would have heard the door far above him open, heard someone cry "DUBBLEDORE!" and register what it meant. But he didn't. 

Instead, he leapt back up, laughing. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The next thing he saw was another jet of red light shooting directly at his chest.

The next thing he _felt_--

 --was an object about the size of a quaffle crash into his thigh with such force it knocked him sideways. 

And the next thing he _heard_ was Bellatrix shrieking at the top of her lungs.

          Other than that, the room had gone completely silent.

          Sirius rolled over, moaning-- and saw such an astounding thing shadowed on the wall, he was sure he was having a heart attack. And what he saw was his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, fighting desperately with an _owl_.

          Some ten steps up, Sirius heard Harry gasp, "Hedwig!"

          But as Sirius lay there, the only thing he could hear was his conscience telling him what an idiot he was. _How_ could he never have realized? _How_?

          He rolled over again so he could see properly.

          The owl had grabbed Bellatrix's wand. It snapped it in half with its beak. Bellatrix started wailing and swatting hopelessly at the owl with her arms, which were scored with several deep scratches.

          Then Dumbledore plucked her off her feet and reeled her in towards the rest of the Death Eaters, who were struggling madly against invisible bonds right off the dais. But, as he had also missed many other things that night, Sirius didn't see it. He had eyes for one thing and one thing only: the snowy owl.

          She fluttered in the air for a moment before transforming. And then she just stood there, staring Sirius in the eye, scared and uncertain about his reaction.

          "Bloody hell!" said Harry weakly. 

Sirius's mouth was hanging open and he was shaking his head in wonder. She seemed to take this as a bad sign, because she looked appalled and said, "It's okay, if you're mad, I'll just go--" but next second Sirius had picked her up and swung her around in a circle, then stood clutching her tightly.

"Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry, I should have told you--" she began again, her voice muffled because she was speaking into his shoulder.

"Shh," he whispered back. "Sami, don't talk."

He took her chin in his hand, tilted her face upwards, and kissed her with all his might.          

Tonks, who had been revived by Mad-Eye Moody moments before, whistled loudly and was soon joined by Lupin and Kingsley. When Sirius broke the kiss, applause from everyone echoed throughout the room. Except, of course, from the Death Eaters.

"I thought for sure you'd moved on," Sami said, resting her forehead on his. 

"I couldn't," he said. It was a struggle to keep his voice from breaking with emotion. "And now that I have you back, I'll never let you go."

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^_^

          This Chapter seemed to consist of a lot of people talking for a long time about completely random things, but oh well. Writing weird, random things can be a lot of fun sometimes :) 

          BlackLupin: Yep, you submitted the 100th review! Don't you feel powerful? And no, this Chapter isn't the last one. I want to say again I absolutely _love_ the new Chapter of I Can See You. It was really good work, I liked it a lot~

          Rebecca89: Hey, thanks so much! I feel it is my duty to the world to make up great fics, lol just kidding. I like you're fic!! I'll keep reading it~

          Smiley-Freak :D: Well here it is! Hope you liked it~

          Cestari: I was glad to get a review from you again! And I know, Bellatrix can be truly evil sometimes-- luckily she didn't get to commit her worst crime in my fic~

          Shadows13: Hey, what's up? Thanks for your review~

          MarauderGurl: Thanks for reviewing, and I like your fic too-- heck, all fics about the Marauders rock!!

          If you review, you get a balloon and a lollipop in the flavor of your choice. I can't believe I have 100 reviews now! You guys all rock!!

          ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


	15. The Epilogue

Chapter 15: The Epilogue

Padfoot's Story

Disclaimer: For the final time, I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters.

The last Chapter. The one that explains it all. Sorry I took so long to post it, but I just didn't want it all to be over. I've become very attached to my characters in the past 5 months. ^_^

I want to thank (and now I feel like I'm accepting a Grammy, or something, by whatever) everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate it and besides getting reviews is just plain FUN! I hope you guys had as much fun reading the story as I did writing it.

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          Sami hugged her bare knees to her chest and stared out over the lake. 

          "Life doesn't get any better than this," she told the black dog when he climbed onto the wide, flat rock she was sitting on. He dropped a tennis ball next to her, and she hurled it out over the water.

          Even though it was late July, the morning air wasn't steamy like it was after noon, and Sami was enjoying her favorite part of the day. She looked over to where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were swimming while she waited for Sirius to bring the ball back. Harry was going to be 16 the next day and he looked his age, for once; he had grown a good 3 inches over the year. He was still skinny and pale, but in a way that Ginny seemed to think was cute, if the way she was staring was any indication. 

          Ron was nearing six feet and was in that in-between stage of being gangly and being muscular, but his goofy grin and personality hadn't changed a twit. He was wearing the grin now, and he couldn't take his eyes off Hermione, who looked the same as always in a modest one-piece.

          "Teenage love," Sami thought to herself, not trying in any way to hide the smile on her face.

          Sirius climbed back onto the rock and dropped the tennis ball again. "My arm's starting to get tired, you know," she told him. "I've been throwing this ball for over an hour." 

          Sirius barked in a way that clearly meant, "You've been flying with it for five years and you expect me to believe you're tired after an hour?" Then he shook his fur vigorously and sprayed her with water, just to annoy her.

          "You're really going to have to do better than that," said Sami. She pushed him off the rock.

          While Sirius swam out into the middle of the lake for the ball, Sami examined her reflection in the water. "He's gone and made my shirt completely see-through," she told her reflection in exasperation. She pulled the tank top over her head to reveal the bikini under it. Sami wasn't particularly fond of showing off her body, which was why she left on her jean shorts, but who was here to see her, anyway?

          Oh, yeah. Her boyfriend.

          But Sirius, of course, was only allowed to compliment her unless he wanted a cockroach cluster to mysteriously appear in his soup that night, so she laid back on the rock and put her hands behind her head. No one else knew how good it felt to feel the sun warming her _skin,_ and not her feathers.

           Harry, Ron and the two girls had swum over to join her. Hermione and Ginny climbed onto the rock with Sami, but Harry and Ron remained in the water. Sami propped herself up on her elbows.

          "Wow, I think that's the first time I've seen you in a bathing suit all summer," Ron teased. 

          "That's 'cause they look horrible on me," Sami replied swiftly.

          "Don't be ridiculous, you look fine," said Hermione in a very business-like way.

          "You look _wonderful,_" Sirius said flirtatiously. He had snuck up behind them all and transformed. Without missing a beat, Sami turned around and smacked him on the top of the head.

          "Ow! What was that for?" said Sirius, rubbing the spot and giving Sami his most pathetic puppy-dog face.

          "Oh no, not the puppy face!" Harry exclaimed, clutching his heart in mock despair.

          "The things love will do to a man," said Ron, shaking his head.

          Sirius ignored them. "I swear, you just can't say anything nice to your girlfriend anymore. Were you _looking_ for insults? 'Cause I've been saving a few good ones."

          Sami smirked and put one arm around his neck, drawing him in for a kiss.

          "Oh, get a bloody _room!"_ said Ron loudly, but Hermione caught his eye and he blushed.

          "Mmm . . .we should go, I think these lovebirds here need a little _alone_ time," Ginny said meaningfully, and nudged Harry with her shoulder. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and grinned. 

          "Yeah, c'mon Ron, weren't we just talking about Harry's birthday present?" Hermione added, pointedly looking at Harry as she unceremoniously dragged Ron from the water and began to steer him towards the shore. There came a few words of protest from Ron before he started cottoning on. Harry and Ginny glanced at each other and burst into laughter, then followed their arguing friends.

          As soon as they were out of earshot, Sirius whispered in Sami's ear, "I don't mind the alone time at all," and kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, Sami's face was flushed. No matter how many times he kissed her, it would always feel as good as the first one had.

          "I still can't believe I'm here," Sami said wistfully, as she looked out over the water. "Just the fact that I'm not a bird, and you're not in danger of being arrested any moment . . ."

          "_I_ still can't believe how good you look in a bathing suit," Sirius murmured. "Look at your _tan_!" Sami punched him lightly on the arm.

          "You are so narrow-minded!" she squealed. "Stop avoiding the subject."

          "What's the subject?" asked Sirius suggestively.

          Sami rolled her eyes before meeting his.

          "That I'm in love with you."

          Sirius's heart stopped beating for a full three seconds.

          "Really?" he said, in a daze; never before had she said that to him. He hadn't been expecting it at all.

          "Really," she replied softly. "Only that's not what you're supposed to say back."

          "Oh," Sirius said rather sheepishly. "I love you too." Sami sighed in contentment.

          Silence endured for a few minutes. Then Sirius brought up a subject that had been discussed and talked about so many times in the last month both Sirius and Sami knew it by heart.

          "So . . .what _exactly_ happened to you all those years ago?"

          Sami moaned. "_Sirius_. . ."

          "What?"

          "I've told you a million times!"

          "Well, I want to hear it again. It makes me sound good." The corners of Sami's mouth twitched.

          "Alright-- where do I start?"

          "Start where you're walking alone at one o'clock in the morning and I heroically save your life."

          Sami stared at him, her eyebrows raised. He looked just like a little kid settling down to hear a good story, his legs crossed, a grin on his face and his eyes eager. She couldn't help but notice that _he_ looked pretty good in a bathing suit, too. 

          "My life which wouldn't have needed saving if you and your friends hadn't decided to play Sherlock Homes," she retorted.

          The grin faded.

          "Decided to play _what_?"

          "Oh never mind. It's a muggle thing."

          "Oh."

          The conversation continued and eventually they came to the part where Bellatrix used Polyjuice Potion to torture Sirius and bring him to the Order meeting.

          "Was it really horrible for you, thinking for all that time I was really a Death Eater?"

          "Yeah, it-- it felt like betrayal."

          "I'm so glad you didn't have to live all these years thinking it was really me who did that to you," Sami said quietly, examining a crack in the rock and knowing that if he had, he never would have forgiven her.

          "Mmm . . .So anyway, she started the fire and we got separated--"

          "And then?" Sami asked, because after they talked about this for the first time, Sirius would fill in all the details if she encouraged him.

          "Then you managed to get the wand from Bellatrix and tried to put out the fire, but it didn't really work, so you went to get the Order members, and when you came back there were a hundred Death Eaters in the room with me, give or take a few--"

          Sami rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time; her love sure liked to exaggerate. As if a hundred Death Eaters could have fit into the Room of Rebellion. 

          "Even though there were spells so you couldn't Apparate?" Sami prodded, like she was the one who hadn't been conscious that night. Sirius _loved _telling this story, but pretended Sami was the one who did.

          "Voldemort and his followers have a way of getting places without Apparating," Sirius replied proudly. "So Dumbledore and the rest of the Order members went into this fantastic duel with them, and you get knocked out. Finally the Death Eaters realize they're outmatched, so they disappear and Dumbledore revives you. The first thing you do is run to me--" here Sirius sort of puffed out his chest, feeling important --"but Dumbledore tells you not to help me, and that you should stay in your animagus form until further notice, because it was important that the Death Eaters think you had died in the fight."

          "Right," Sami added calmly. "I watched while he sent Hagrid to bring you to the hospital wing, then listened as he told me I couldn't be seen as a human anymore. He was going to tell everyone I was dead. Because if Voldemort knew I was still alive, he would keep after both of us until we really were dead. I couldn't talk to you, couldn't let you even glimpse me in my owl form either, because you knew." 

          "A part of me died with you, when Lily told me what happened."

          The first time she had had to explain this to him, she had cried, but it was much easier now. Each time she retold her story her emotions showed less and less, and Sami knew soon she'd be able to talk about it in an offhand way. It was just a memory, after all, no matter how painful it had been at the time. "It's over now, it's like it never happened . . ." Sami said aloud. "And . . . where were we again?"

          "When I was told you were dead."

          "Oh. Okay. Yeah, I joined the other owls in the Owlrey, watching you every day when I could. Every chance I got I talked to Dumbledore, begging for information and to know when I could see you again, when I could talk to Lily. He told me no, every time." She watched as a hawk swooped low over the water and grabbed a writhing fish. Inwardly she thanked her voice for sounding normal.

          "And then, on the day we graduated . . ." Sirius coaxed.

          "It should have one of the most exciting days of your life, and you looked so unhappy. I couldn't bear it, there all of you were, and the thing I wanted most was to be with all of you, get _my_ diploma too. And I almost transformed smack in the middle of all the students, but Dumbledore stopped me at the last moment. I was furious with him at the time, but now I'm so glad he did. It could have ruined everything."

          She gazed into the water beside the rock for a few minutes. Sirius didn't stop her. A breeze was picking up, rustling the tree branches. He reached out and tucked a brown curl behind her ear. His touch seemed to bring her back.

          "Times were growing darker, hope was dimming and the entire Wizarding World was in disarray," Sami said steadily, because this part was well rehearsed. "I watched as Lily married James, became pregnant and delivered Harry. Dumbledore told them someone close to them was passing information to Voldemort and suggested the Fidelius Charm. James insisted you be Secret- Keeper, of course, and I thought he had never made a wiser decision. In fact, that day I broke the rules and went to see Lily. It was foolish, but I craved human contact too much. Lily was overjoyed to see me. I got a chance to hold baby Harry. Lily promised never to tell a word to anyone I had spoken to her. The next day she and James were dead."

          "And I was arrested," said Sirius. His tone was strained. "Wormtail, that little worthless piece of--"

          "But that was it, I didn't know you had convinced James to change to Peter at the last second, I thought you had really sold out James and Lily." Sami said somewhat sadly.

          "For twelve years you haunted my memory," Sirius muttered, partly to himself. "Twelve! The bloody Dementors kept making me relive the day you 'died' and it nearly made me go mad."

          "Nearly," Sami reminded him. "But you were stronger. After you were sent to Azkaban, I really didn't know what to do, or even whom to believe. I didn't think I could trust anyone anymore. So I went to Eyelops Owl Emporium and waited for a wizard to claim me as their pet. And who should that be but Harry Potter. So I was soon in close contact with Dumbledore again, but my feelings towards him were somewhat tense."

          "And then, on a more cheerful note," Sirius said brightly, "I broke out, and nearly a year later, Harry knew I was innocent."

          "Yes, you were," said Sami warmly. "And he kept having me send letters to you. I was so thrilled to be in you presence again. I remember once, after Harry's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, you told him to stop using me because I stood out. I was so mad at him at first, but then I thought maybe you had figured out who I was and didn't want me coming anymore."

          "And I still can't understand how that even crossed your mind. I wish you had transformed, all those times we were alone together."

          "I'm sorry," Sami said gently. "I was terrified you'd reject me, or that you'd forgotten all about me and moved on."    

          "Go on," Sirius prompted. 

          "I was becoming very attached to Harry, Ron and Hermione, especially after that long stay in Grimmauld Place. I had watched for many years as Dark Magic threatened the school, and each year they stuck together and conquered it. They reminded me so much of you, James, and Remus," Sami said. "I longed to be in the Order again, and once or twice Dumbledore allowed me to make small trips between the members with important information. I learned about the prophecy and Voldemort's plans to steal it. I urged Dumbledore to explain it all to Harry before it was too late, but he wouldn't listen." Here she paused, and her voice became more confident. She was getting to her favorite part. "Towards the end of the year Fudge and that old hag, Umbridge, learned that Harry had organized a secret club and they had been meeting in the Room of Requirement throughout the year. In the end Dumbledore was driven out of the school. Then, one night when I had worked up the nerve, I went to find Dumbledore. It took me forever to find him, but in the end he was in that cave you had stayed in in Hogsmeade. I told him that I couldn't put up with the owl masquerade anymore, that it was going to drive me out of my mind and I was old enough to make my old decisions. I thought that the longer I waited, the worse Harry's reaction would be to his pet actually being a human-- the way Peter Pettigrew was Ron's rat."

          "And then," interrupted Sirius excitedly, "Snape shows up saying that Harry's gone off to the Department of Mysteries, and that I was at Grimmauld Place and would explain everything when he got there."

          "Dumbledore told me to go back to the Owlrey, but I insisted on coming, because I knew that you would never have hung around if Harry was in danger," continued Sami, with a wry smile at the look on Sirius's face.

          "So you get there and all you find is my lunatic house-elf, who needs a little 'persuading' to explain everything, but nevertheless you get to the Department of Mysteries and see me battling with my cousin," Sirius exclaimed, talking very fast, "and you fly down to give her a piece of your mind and end up saving _my_ life--" Sami burst out laughing--"and then you transform, _finally_, and I do something that went like this." He pulled her up, spun her around, and kissed her, stifling her laughter.

          "And," Sami giggled, gasping for breath, "The Minister of Magic arrives to find out who's broken in and stalled a lift and what should he find but a bunch of Death Eaters trapped in the Department of Mysteries; and Dumbledore proves once and for all your innocence and the next day there's an eight page article in the _Daily_ _Prophet_ about us and our fairy-tale story, making us instant celebrities."

          "And we got so tired of all the attention and people asking for our autographs and the post burying us alive every morning we had to escape to the great outdoors for the summer, along with Tonks, Remus, Harry, Hermione and the entire Weasley crew," joked Sirius.

          "I got tired, you mean. You loved it!"

          "You know, it's such a waste for you to be in a bathing suit and not get wet."

          "I don't want to get wet, thank you very much!"

          "Well, if you won't do it yourself . . ." He pushed her into the water. She shrieked, then there was a loud splash and she came up, spewing lake water from her mouth. There was another splash and another shriek as Sirius jumped in with her.

          "Sirius!" she complained. "My hair is always a nightmare to untangle after it gets wet!"

          "That's why you have a wand," Sirius replied sweetly, and she groaned and pushed him under.

**********************************************************************************

          That evening after dinner, Sirius and Sami escaped again to sit on their rock together and share a pitcher of lemonade. The sun was setting over the water, and it strongly reminded Sami of the time on their first date when she had seen the sun setting over the lake at Hogwarts. 

          They had both showered, Sirius afterwards teaching Sami some handy little spells to help with her hair. Now they were both more comfortable, Sirius in a tee shirt and shorts and Sami in a sundress. Sirius had performed a complex charm to keep the mosquitoes away.

          "What a splendid night," said Sami, sounding pleased.

          "Yeah . . .Sami, something came for you in the post right before dinner." He pulled an envelope made of thick yellow parchment out of his pocket.

          "More fan mail?" she asked in exasperation. 

          "Nah, it was from one of the old school owls."

          She took it hesitantly and slit the top. She opened the piece of parchment, and seeing the Hogwarts crest on the top, relaxed. 

          _Dear Ms. Jackson,_

          _It is our pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted as the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts._

          Sami blinked, and then reread the line again. It couldn't be true . . .could it?

          Meanwhile, Sirius had read the letter over her shoulder, then looked at her, his smile too big for his face. 

          "Yes!" he shouted, pumping her fist into the air. He pulled her up and started dancing in circles with her around the dock.

          "I can't believe it," said Sami excitedly. Her eyes were sparkling. 

          "This is great!" yelled Sirius, going into a weird sort of jig. "Now we've both got the jobs we always wanted!"

          "_What_?"

          "Oh, didn't you know? Look, I got the letter last week, they've accepted me into Auror training." He pulled out the scroll and showed her. "I'm going to be partners with Kingsley, the same wizard who was in charge of my capture!"

          "This is incredible," she said in amazement. She sank down onto her knees and drained her glass of lemonade. Beside her, Sirius had sat down too.

          Sami was staring out at the sunset again, the breeze whipping her hair around. Sirius pulled a small box out of his pocket. "Sami . . ."

          "Mmm?" He reached out and took her chin between his thumb and index finger, turning her face towards his. Her eyes widened considerably when she saw the box.

          "This is something I tried to give you a long time ago, but to the wrong Sami. So now I want to give it to the _real_ you . . ."

          He opened the box with a small _click _to reveal the tiny snowy-owl shaped pendant. The last rays of the setting sun bounced off the glass, making it glitter and shine. 

          "Oh, it's beautiful," she whispered. Sirius lifted it out of the box and Sami held up her hair so he could fasten it around her neck. She took the bottle in her hand so she could examine it more closely.

          "It's even more beautiful when you're wearing it," said Sirius fondly, and Sami knew he wasn't being sarcastic, like he usually was. Her hand found his.

          "I love you," she said simply, and Sirius's heart soared. 

          "I'll never get tired of hearing that."

          Together they looked out over the water, as the last slimmer of sun disappeared under the trees.

          "Everything is so perfect," said Sami, awestricken.

          "Yeah," said Sirius, pulling her closer. "Perfect."

          **_The End_**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Ha! How many of you thought he was going to propose? Probably none of you, since I can't write anything suspenseful to save my life. Oh well. Maybe some of you really _didn't_ think this Chapter was boring, but I'll find that out in your reviews, I guess.

          So ends Padfoot's Story. But if you stick around and read my next fanfic, Moony's Story (Noticing a trend here?) you'll get to read some more about the great Sirius Black.

BlackLupin: HI! I think it's traditional for me to update right after you do. I'm so glad you liked it, your reviews are _really_ encouraging and I always look forward to them. And- lol- It never even occurred to me Hedwig might be male! But it's too late to change that. By the way, your black balloon and passion fruit lollipop should be along any day now. Or week. Or year. (Hmm, maybe it got lost in the mail??)

Cestari, ANNE (v) 79, and shadows13: Thanks! Yes, I love happy endings too . . .

DavidCamp, SOBlack113, and alwaysginny: If, in a review, you ask me to read your story I certainly will take the time to look at it as soon as possible. As of now, I've read all of your stories (yes, the whole story, except for DavidCamp's who's story rocks but I haven't finished yet). You guys are all great authors!

Smiley-Freak :D : Yeah, sorry, it was bound to be confusing. Hope this Chapter cleared it up a little bit for you. I'm glad that (even if you didn't have a clue what was going on) you still liked it, though!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a good Turkey Day. I'd be thankful for any reviews ^_^

                                       ~*Padfoot-dreamer*~


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